The Holiday season can be quite stressful....Especially when you have to buy gifts for that person who seems to have everything. Take my husband for example: He has a ton of stuff, and claims to need nothing. Well, with the exception of an S-Class Mercedes, but that's not happening any time soon unless we strike a lottery jackpot! (Which of course won't happen since we don't buy lottery tickets!) So I have been searching high and low for unique gift ideas. That's when I stumbled upon an online retailer called Uncommon Goods. This site rocks! This site truly lives up to their name. Uncommon Goods is an online marketplace offering very creatively designed, high-quality merchandise at affordable prices. At Uncommon Goods, they believe that creativity and the expression of total individuality represent two great human treasures. Uncommon Goods has set out to create a business that makes uncommon goods accessible to everyone. And not only that, they have a commitment to the environment as well! Their catalogs are made with recycled paper, and they also offer a wide selection of beautifully unique products made from recycled materials for the eco-friendly consumer. I have spent quite some time browsing the selection of products at Uncommon Goods, and I am truly amazed by the wide variety of products available. They truly offer something for everyone, young and old. I am the mother of 2 babies, and I instantly fell in love with their Mimijumi Baby Bottle Set and Nipples! I have never seen anything quite like these bottles. The one-piece, easy-to-attach nipple, snap-off cap and no-skid bottom make it possible to prepare a bottle with just one hand. The nipple's shape, color and gradual texture change towards the tip are designed to mimic mother's breast, creating a more natural tactile experience for baby. The integrated venting system prevents colic, and the convenient, leak-proof cap protects against dust.These great bottles are made from medical grade, BPH-free silicone and plastic, which ensures absolute safety for baby.
Of course as a mom, I am always thinking about my babies. There are other great gifts, too! My husband and I are wine lovers. I prefer a good Moscato while he loves a nice crisp Chardonnay or a Pinot Grigio. We don't have too many wine accessories, and the Corksicle at Uncommon Goods really caught my eye. Not only is it beautiful, it also serves a purpose. What looks like an arctic front freezing its way through the center of your bottle is actually the innovative Corkcicle. This icicle is made of BPA-free plastic filled with a reusable freeze gel, so you don't have to worry about an early thaw diluting your wine. Simply place your Corkcicle in the freezer for at least two hours, and then insert it into any bottle of wine (after 1 glass has been poured) to maintain chilled white wine or to bring up red wines to their perfect temperature. The Corkcicle enhances the subtleties of the red and white wine's complex flavors. How cool is that?! And if your family is a little bit country, Uncommon Goods also has a very different approach to home decor. And it's cruelty-free, too! Their cardboard deer head makes the perfect Holiday gift for the hunter in your life! I don't personally hand deer heads (or any other heads, for that matter) in my home, but my ex-husband does. He is an avid hunter, which is something I have never been overly enthusiastic about. I think the cardboard deer head from Uncommon Goods would make the perfect Christmas gift for my oldest child to give his father. Not only is it cute and whimsical, it also sends the message that animal cruelty is not necessary. This way, he could have his game head on the wall without having to kill an animal to obtain it.
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Okay, so I have no choice but to start the event a couple of days early. I will be heading out of town first thing in the morning to see my Grandma. She has S-L-O-W dial-up internet, and there is no way I would be able to get all the posts prepped and Rafflecopter forms edited to include the event entries in time to start as scheduled. Not to mention, we are nowhere near packed for out trip yet. So my lack of organization is YOUR gain, as you'll have a few extra days to get those tweets in! Please note: I have already merged the EARLY ENTRIES into the event forms. If you've done early entries, you can simply go back and do the additional entries I have added to the form for the giveaway event.
Hope everyone has a HAPPY THANKSGIVING, and I will be back next week! I am SUPER excited to share my next product in my Holiday Gift Guide. The MamaRoo Plush by the geniuses over at 4moms is a must-have product not only for the gift-giving season, it is also a must for any new or expectant parents out there! I have actually had a MamaRoo since Xander, my 10 month old, was a newborn. I have to say, this product saved my sanity on about a million different occasions. You see, Xander had awful acid reflux when he was smaller, and he would not sleep laying flat. At all. I had no choice but to let him sleep in either a traditional swing or the MamaRoo. When he was tiny, the overly mechanical motion of a regular swing didn't help lull him to sleep at all. In fact, it seemed to be a bit too much for the little guy! The MamaRoo is different, since it features 5 great motions that are specifically designed to accurately mimic parental movements. So rather than feeling unnatural motions, baby is soothed by the comforting motions that are already familiar to them by being held, rocked, and swayed by Mom and Dad! I cannot tell you how many times the MamaRoo was a veritable life-saver in my home. I had a painful c-section, and it was often very difficult to perform everyday functions in the first weeks after Xander's birth. Add to that the fact that I had Sophie who had just started walking to chase after, and you can see why the MamaRoo quickly became this Mama's helper! When I had to prepare food for Sophie, I could simply put Xander into the MamaRoo and it would buy me the time to take care of my toddler. The MamaRoo also helped Xander fall asleep quicker and stay asleep longer. The seat is designed to perfectly cradle baby, making for a comfortable, cozy little nest. Add to that the fact that there are several nature sounds to help calm baby and you've got a very soothing place for baby to rest. If you're not into nature sounds, you can even plug an mp3 player into the MamaRoo so baby can listen to anything you'd like! We really like The Beatles here, and I often play "Real Love" to Xander as he's falling asleep. My husband likes awful, growling, scary Death Metal. I would not recommend this type of music for small babies, since all it seems to do is scare them. (And give ME a headache!) I was really excited when the nice folks over at Silk Soymilk asked me to review their products and put it to a cereal taste-test. Why was I so excited? Well, because I am already a huge fan of their delicious soy milks. As a matter of fact, I buy a carton of their Very Vanilla Soymilk every time I go to the grocery store. This is known in my house as "Mommy's Milk" since I am the only one who drinks it. My husband is very resistant to trying anything other than conventional milk, and the kids...well, let's just say I am stingy when it comes to my Silk! I do let my oldest have some on occasion, but for the most part, it's all MINE! This isn't because I am a mean mommy...It's a rule I had to put into place because my Silk was disappearing before I could even enjoy any myself! Yes, this stuff is really THAT good! If you haven't tried Silk, you don't know what you're missing. Yes, I know that anything with the word "Soy" in it can seem rather intimidating to some. I am actually a big fan of soy, and I love munching on soy nuts (yes, these exist) and I drink soymilk often. Silk Soymilk is my favorite. It is rich, creamy, and comes in a wide variety of flavors. My favorites are the Chocolate and Very Vanilla varieties. To me, they taste a lot like a thinned-out milkshake! Silk Soymilk not only tastes great, it's nutritious, too, and offers 50% more calcium than typical dairy milk!** In a National Taste test in January, 2011, Silk Vanilla Soymilk was actually preferred by most people in their cereal*. That's right...It beat regular dairy milk! This came as no surprise to me, since I already love my Silk! As an Infantino Test Drive Mom, I have been able to review and assortment of awesome products geared towards my babies. This time around, I got to try the Infantino Sync Comfort Wrap baby carrier! I have to admit, this product intimidated me at first. I am not new to baby-wearing, but I AM new to wrap-style baby carriers. I have only tried structured carriers in the past. You see, I get very easily confused when it comes to wrap-style carriers. I always thought they would be too difficult to get on. So when my Sync Comfort Wrap baby carrier arrived, I admit, I felt a little bit of panic. However, I had always wanted to try a carrier like this, so I saw this as a great opportunity to try something new. The Infantino Sync Comfort Wrap Carrier is absolutely gorgeous. I love the fun red and black print on the body of the carrier. This is totally my style, since red and black are among my favorite color combinations. Its design is also unique, as it features a lumbar belt that buckles for added comfort and stability. This is something you don't usually find in wrap-style carriers. This is awesome, since it allows baby's weight to be evenly distributed and helps prevent a parent's back and shoulders from getting sore. The carrier features woven panels and soft straps that form to your body's shape and keep baby close and secure. Another very cool feature of the Sync carrier is that it allows 4 different carry positions! That's right, with the Sync, you can choose the Infant Hug Position for smaller babies, or for older babies, you can choose front carry (baby facing in), hip carry, or you can even carry baby on your back! This carrier is suitable for babies 8-36lbs! I am sitting here with a heavy heart and tears rolling down my face as I write this post. I don't know what to say, or how to say it...But it needs to be said. In fact, the family of this beautiful little girl wants others to spread the word about Emily's story, so I intend to do just that. I just hope my words are eloquent enough to honor Emily Hubbel and the difficult struggle she is enduring, and has been for almost a year now. I am a follower of a great number of blogs. That's how I "met" Emily Hubbel. Shannon, Emily's mom, had a wonderful blog that I read daily for many months. In her blog, she introduced the world to her girls. At the time I started following along, Emily was a happy, healthy little girl. She was your typical little girl who loved playing with her sisters and loved Justin Bieber. I enjoyed her posts and got quite a few chuckles over Emily's antics. Kids do the darndest things,lol....I especially enjoyed Shannon's blog because they are a local family, living about an hour away in Richmond, Virginia. That made everything very relatable for me. Well on 12/18/2010, the lives of the Hubbel family were changed forever. Emily had a high fever and complained of stomach pain and was taken to be checked out. What happened next? Every parent's nightmare: They found a tumor. Emily was soon diagnosed with Stage IV Ganglionueroblastoma. Emily had surgery and they removed about 70% of the tumor. Since then, little Emily has been fighting for her life, enduring several rounds of chemo, stem cell transplants, and other painful treatments in hopes of curing her cancer. It has been a long, hard road for the Hubbel family, but Emily is a beautiful, courageous little girl and has continued to fight this horrible disease, often with a big, bright smile on her face. Over the past year, Emily has endured a lot. She has been sick often while battling cancer, and she has had to be hospitalized many times. She's had to endure a lot of pain, high fevers, surgeries, and other treatments that no innocent child should ever have to endure. Recently, the Hubbels got news that no parent wants to hear: More spots were found, this time on little Emily's skull and spine. Despite all of the vigorous treatments, Emily's neuroblastoma has progressed. So now, the fight isn't to cure Emily's cancer, it is to simply keep her condition stable in hopes of finding other treatments that may help her. The bony lesions that Emily has are the hardest to treat, and the main concern now is not to remove them, but to keep them from spreading for the time being. Emily has a few treatment options at the moment, but they are rather invasive and offer no guarantees. I am not a doctor and I don't claim to understand all of the medical terminology, so rather than go into specifics and risk putting misinformation out there, I am just going to speak from the heart, as a Mom, and as someone who has followed Emily's journey from the beginning. Right now, the doctors have told the Hubbels that they will "do everything they can". As a parent, that would scare the shit out of me. A doctor not having any easy answers when a child is suffering from a progressive cancer? That is the scariest thing a parent could ever have to face. I cannot even pretend to know how the Hubbels feel as they face this new development, and my heart breaks for them. No child should ever have to endure this kind of fight, and no family should have to watch their baby suffer. I don't know why kids get cancer. I don't know why a child can be seemingly healthy one day and be literally fighting for their life the next. It seems so unfair. Unnatural. As a mother, it terrifies me. I have been blessed with 3 beautiful, healthy children. I do not take this for granted, and every day I hold them tight and love them to the best of my ability. They say that children are on loan to us from God...I believe this is true. But I don't understand why any of these precious children are made to suffer. No child deserves this, no family deserves this. Emily Hubbel does not deserve this. I know there are a great number of stories online about children who have life-threatening illnesses. I know that no one likes a sad story. I know that some of these stories are scams from awful people trying to get a quick buck. I get that. But Emily Hubbel is a REAL little girl from my local area. Her family is real. Her struggle is real. This is one of the strongest little girls I have ever seen. She is fighting this horrible disease with courage and grace, and she is up against her biggest fight yet. Emily's mom, Shannon, is asking others to help spread the word about Emily's story and childhood cancer in general. The more awareness there is, the better hope for a cure in the future. So please, send love and prayers out to little Emily and her family. Help spread the word. The more love and positive energy going to Emily, the better. For more information about Emily's Journey and how you can help, please visit: http://www.emilyhubbel.com http://www.facebook.com/emilysjourney I have a family of 5....A husband that works in an automotive shop, a preteen, a toddler, and an infant. My laundry piles grow exponentially every day, and it can be very hard to keep up with! Laundry is my husband's ONLY chore, and he tends to be a slacker. Rather than do a load every day, he waits for his day off and does several loads...and then neglects to fold and put things away. But that's my personal gripe and has nothing to do with this post, haha. With a family of 5, clothes get dirty FAST. The babies get food (and worse) on their clothing, and my husband gets a ton of grime on his work uniforms. With laundry detergent being so darn expensive, keeping our ever-growing piles of laundry clean can be a challenge. One that can cost an arm and a leg! Being a cloth-diapering family makes out laundry challenges even worse, since traditional, detergent based laundry soaps can utterly destroy cloth diapers. So on top of needing to buy normal laundry detergent, we also have to purchase special detergents that are compatible with our cloth diapers. Not good at all! That's why I was thrilled to learn about SmartKlean Laundry Balls. This is a unique, eco-friendly, non-detergent laundry ball that is effective on normal clothing yet gentle enough even for cloth diapers. How cool is that?! It is also reusable, and will last for up to 365 wash cycles! Now THAT is a lot of laundry! Here's how the SmartKlean works, since I'm sure you're all wondering: - Delivers an effective, toxic-free wash without the use of soap or detergent. – Derived from earth minerals, its active components are formulated to leave no residues behind in the water or fabrics, making it 100% safe for people of all ages and the environment. Ideal for sensitive skin and eczema. Recyclable, BPA & PVC-free. – Its full power lasts up to 365 washes or more! Additionally, without any foam or residues, it requires no rinse cycle, saving ‘loads’ of water & energy! – It naturally maintains the softness, elasticity and color of the fabrics. In comparison to any laundry detergent, your clothes and linens will last much longer. No more fading, static cling or stiff fabrics means no fabric softeners or dryer sheets are necessary! -The laundry ball is simply placed among the laundry in the washing machine. It may be left in the machine for the next load. All that is required is a monthly sun bath for 1-2 hours to regenerate the ceramic beads in order to keep it working at full force! The laundry ball is filled with many ceramic beads, each comprising a combination of different minerals. When these ceramic beads come in contact with water, they form oxygenated water. The water molecules are fragmented into smaller sizes, increasing the water’s dissolution power and enabling better penetration into the fabric’s pores, therefore releasing dirt, grime and odors. This is similar to the effect of detergents on water, but at a molecular scale without harsh chemicals. The natural ceramics are formulated to leave no residues behind on clothes, or the environment. No residue means it produces a 100% safe and worry-free wash for the whole family as well as an extended lifespan for your clothing in comparison to any laundry soap or detergent. Fine or heavy fabrics, colors or whites, the laundry is fresh, safe and clean! While I have been cloth-diapering for well over a year now, there are still a few brands I haven't had the pleasure of trying. GroVia was one of them, until now! I know a few cloth-diapering mamas that absolutely swear by GroVia diapers, so I have always been curious as to what makes these diapers so coveted. The nice folks at Baby Belle Bottoms recently gave me the opportunity to try the GroVia AIO, and I couldn't have been more excited to see what all the fuss was about! Before I get into the details of the GroVia AIO cloth diaper, I would love to tell you more about Baby Belle Bottoms. Baby Belle Bottoms a great online retailer that is dedicated to helping families cloth diaper through education, product support and timely delivery of high quality cloth diapering products. They strive to make their customers happy and treat them with honesty and respect. We have been selling many of the same products for 8 years and know them well. What does this mean for you? Fabulous customer service and a knowledgeable staff that is always there to answer any questions you might have about a product, cloth-diapering, and more! Speaking of more, Baby Belle Bottoms has recently been introduced to EC (elimination communication), or going diaper-free. They are excited to share this amazing way to communicate with infants. EC is another great and practical alternative to disposables for many families. I must admit, this is a totally new concept to me, and I am unsure of how EC works exactly. But Baby Belle Bottoms has a great web reference to help parents learn more about EC, linking to some of the most comprehensive sites on the web. They even carry a variety of products to make elimination communication easier for families who choose to try this method. Baby Belle Bottoms has narrowed their selection of cloth diapering, EC and potty training products to those they feel provide their customers with an excellent value, are easy to use, top rated and are made by outstanding manufactures with great warranties. They further select for products made in the USA, made ethically and made with certified organic materials when possible. At Baby Belle Bottoms, they take the guesswork out of the picture by selling only the best products that have been carefully selected for their high quality. This is something that I appreciate as a mom. With zillions of products available to cloth-diapering families, it can be difficult choosing the right products for my babies. Not all diapers are created equal, and I have had to learn that the hard way. When I first made the decision to make the switch to cloth, I made the huge mistake of ordering a large diaper lot on EBay. I was attracted to the low price. Well, they ended up being mass produced diapers from China that had the most awful wing-droop I have ever encountered. Some of the snaps didn't even line up properly! I learned my lesson right away! Since the folks at Baby Belle Bottoms have such strict quality standards, when I shop with them, I know I am always getting a great product. I was thrilled to receive a GroVia AIO Cloth Diaper in their chic Cloud color for my review. Like I said, this is one of the few brands I hadn't tried yet, and I have heard wonderful things about GroVia on parenting sites, group forums, and from cloth-diapering friends. Most of the reviews I have read have been about the GroVia AI2 or Hybrid diapers, so I was excited to learn they also offer an AIO (all-in-one) version as well. I happen to love AIO's, since they're so convenient. No stuffing, no doublers needed, just put it on baby and you're good to go! I have found that AIO's are very Daddy friendly since they act just like a disposable, and this also makes them a great choice for daycare or babysitters who may not be cloth-savvy! As you all know, I love cloth diapering. Not only is it better for the environment by keeping chemical laden disposable diapers out of our already overflowing landfills, I truly believe that switching to cloth has been better for my babies as well. Cloth diapers are free of irritating chemicals like chlorine, fragrances and dyes, and they are also made of soft, plush fabrics that are more comfortable against my babies' skin. Who wants to sit in a scratchy, soggy paper diaper? I know if my babies could eloquently voice their opinions, they would definitely favor cloth. One of the things I love most about cloth diapers as a mom is that they're stinkin' cute! With so many colors, fabrics, and prints to choose from, cloth diapers make a statement all their own. I am guilty of basing entire outfits around which diapers the babies happen to be wearing on any given day. This must be a tell-tale sign of a true fluff addict! But good looks aside, there are more benefits to choosing cloth diapering as well. For us, the initial decision to make the switch was entirely financially driven. We had just had our daughter Sophia, and 3 months later found out we were pregnant again, with our son, Xander. Now we're a 1 income family raising 3 children. Can you imagine the cost of keeping 2 babies in disposable diapers? Eeek! It would mean taking on a part time job for me or making my overworked husband get a second job. That just wasn't going to happen! Sure, choosing cloth may seem like a huge initial expense. But when you consider the amount of money you have to spend on disposables, cloth diapers pay for themselves in just a few short months. They also have a resale value so you can recoup some of your costs once baby has been potty-trained. So for us, the switch to cloth diapering was a necessity. I have to admit, when we were first faced with the decision to make the switch, I was more than a little bit leery. After all, there are so many stereotypes surrounding cloth diapering. I have visions of squeaky, plastic pants, oversized pins, and giant prefolds. Not my idea of fun or convenience. I also assumed that cloth would be hard to wash, leaky, and would smell terrible because they are free of perfumes. I was delighted to learn that modern cloth diapering is nothing like that at all. Modern cloth diapers look and operate much like disposables, making them convenient and easy to use. But what kind of diapers were best for my babies? As I started doing research about cloth, I was utterly overwhelmed by the vast amount of information out there. There were so many terms that I didn't understand. AIO...AI2...Hybrid...PUL...Stripping...And then there are all the types of fabrics and inserts that are used in cloth diapering. It was enough to make my head spin! In my part of the world, cloth diapering is not the norm. The vast majority of parents in my area are still using disposables. So it's not like I had a great deal of people to turn to for advice regarding cloth. I had to educate myself, and that in itself was a very confusing and time consuming task. There are plenty of message boards online with info, but it seemed that there were very few places where all of this information was consolidated in one place, so I had to bounce around from place to place, trying to make sense of it all! After I had Kyle, my oldest, I always knew I wanted to have more children. Motherhood is something that has always come naturally to me, and I wanted him to have siblings to grow up with. Of course I didn't want to have any more kids with my abusive ass of an ex-husband, so these plans got put on hold. When I started seeing my now WONDERFUL hubby, who I have actually known since I was 13, we quickly decided we wanted to expand our family. We have a great relationship, and Dan is more of a father to my oldest child than his "sperm donor" is. I knew he would be a wonderful Daddy, and I was thrilled to finally be with a man who was worth having a family with. However, having a baby didn't come as easily as we had hoped. We tried to conceive for a few years, and suffered 3 heartbreaking miscarriages in the process. I was incredibly depressed, since it seemed that everyone around me was having babies. I felt broken...Cheated. Well, when looking into our fertility issues, I was diagnosed with PCOS. (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) PCOS can be devastating to a woman's fertility. I started making lots of lifestyle changes, and still, no baby....I had finally given up all hope. I had a long talk with God, which is something I don't often do, and I decided to leave it in His hands, to do what would be done in His time. In the meantime, I accepted that I may not ever have another baby. We looked into and actually got approved with an adoption agency. Then BAM- Out of nowhere, we were pregnant. For the first trimester, I wouldn't let myself get too excited. After all, we had 3 previous losses. Another would kill me. Sophie actually started out as a twin. We saw 2 babies in my first ultrasound. When we went and got another, about 5 weeks later, there was one baby remaining. She was our miracle baby, and what we had waited so long for. My pregnancy was difficult. I was high risk and put on modified bedrest for almost the entire pregnancy. We ended up having Sophie on New Year's Eve, via scheduled C-section, and she was the most beautiful little blessing I had ever seen. All 6lbs 5oz of her! Yes, she was a tiny little thing! 3 months later, we found out we were pregnant AGAIN. I didn't plan on this, and I didn't think it could even happen. After all, I had PCOS and it took YEARS to conceive before! Not to mention, I was still lactating! I never even had a period between these two pregnancies! But sure enough, we were pregnant again. We welcomed Xander into the world in January of 2011, via another C-section. While I was on the table having my second C-section in 12 months, I was asked this question: "Do you want me to give you a Tubal-Ligation?" I asked, "Is my baby okay?" When they indicated he seemed perfectly healthy, I made the decision that would change my life...I let them do it. I had my tubes tied, cut, and burned. This is a decision I have grown to regret. Do I want more kids? Not necessarily. I can't even afford another child right now. But as I see other women have babies, I feel a little twinge of envy. And worse, when I hear heartbreaking stories about babies who die from illnesses, I feel panic. Did I do the right thing? What if something unthinkable happened to any of my kids, God forbid? I WILL NEVER HAVE ANOTHER BABY. This is a cold, hard fact....And it plagues me. I don't have any intention of having another baby...Not any time in the foreseeable future, at least. Three kids is enough for me. I think it's just the knowledge that I CAN'T that gets me. Is this really a decision that should be made by a half-crazed woman who spent the better part of 2 years pregnant and/or recovering from a c-section? At the time I made the decision, I was just DONE. I had been pregnant, TWICE, with very difficult pregnancies and no time to recover in between them. I wasn't thinking about the future. I was thinking about simply being DONE with pregnancy. Now, since my tubal ligation, I have had awful side effects. My PMS is brutal and each month the bleeding is horrific. MUCH worse than I had ever experienced before. My hormones still feel out of whack, and I just don't feel "right". I highly suspect it's due to the tubal. I find myself seriously questioning whether or not I made the right decision? Have any of you had a tubal? Did you have any side effects? I would love any feedback. This is something women need to put a great deal of thought into before making the decision to proceed. And NOT while they're pregnant, hormonal, and ready to kill someone!
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PR Friendly Mama!
I'm Brandy, a happily married, proud Mom of 3 amazing kids. If you're interested in building a working relationship, please feel free to e-mail me at: NewlyCrunchyMamaOf3@gmail.com Links We Love :Archives
June 2023
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