Up the chicness of any outfit with the artful, playful bangles, necklaces and earrings from New York designer Alexis Bittar. I adore the lucite jewelry, and apparently, I am not alone…his work is consistently mentioned, in Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle and countless other fashion oriented magazines.
The lucite is nice and strong too, so the bangles will hold up to the usual toddler tugging … Mama Jen
Add comment May 29th, 2008
Luca Bleu is having a crib bedding sale for girl’s! Check out the beautiful designs available for all those spring chicks that are ready to hatch!! Enter promo BED20 to receive 20% off of your purchase. Yea!
Mama Jen
Add comment May 14th, 2008
Being a product junkie myself, I naturally continued the habit for my daughter since she can’t very well be one on her own yet. Thymes, a Minnesota based company has a new collection of products for babies called Sweetleaf Baby.
The Sweetleaf Baby collection is formulated to be oh so gentle on that new skin you’ll be pampering. The scent is light and airy with hints of lavender, chamomile.
The gift set is so wonderful with a refreshning hand sanitizer, diaper balm, cute yellow washcloth and nursery mist…mmmm! Perfect! The massage oil I tried is delectable—not too greasy, great smelling and paraben free which is fab!
Happy pampering!!
Mama Jen
Add comment May 5th, 2008
Like the rest of you parents out there, I think some of my kids’ artwork is super cool. Now I can have it with me constantly (around my neck or wrist, on my keychain) and show it off at will. All you have to do (dads, this means you) is upload a scan of your child’s artwork and, vóila, the gals at Mommy Tags will emblazon it on a 1-inch-wide circular tag made of recycled silver. Last step is to order a chain — silver or leather — and wait for the masterpiece to arrive. And, you get a professionally mounted rubber stamp of the artwork as well — great for making cards, Ts, etc.
Mommy Tags is very clear that YOU own the copyright to your child’s artwork; they will not use or distribute it.
Tags are $95. Chains start at $15.
And, dads, while your order probably won’t make it by Mom’s Day at this point, you at least can frame the original artwork and let Mommy know what’s on the way.
Mama Kate
Add comment April 27th, 2008
I love soy candles, and while watching an episode of Oprah that was recorded on my DVR this week, Sandra Bullock was promoting her new line of eco-friendly soy candles called Bessence Candles which are in addition to her Austin, Texas eco-friendly restaurant called Bess Bistro. These candles are have lead-free wicks (why do some candles have lead-containing wicks anyway?) and clean burning soy wax. Check them out…healthy ambiance for the whole family!
There were also amazing tips from Hollywood mom Sophie Uliano who wrote a fabulous book called Gorgeously Green. If you are looking for a nice one-stop reference on how to bring more health to your family and our planet, this is your book!
Mama Jen
Add comment April 24th, 2008
Two products I have come across look like great ways to dial-up safety measures in your home.
Hot Stop has faucet, shower head, and shower-head/faucet combos to protect your family from scalding hot water. You can turn your water heater to a setting below 120 degrees F, but that isn’t a sure-fire way of knowing how hot your water can get. These products , that were featured on the Today Show will cease the flow of water in the event that it reaches an unsafe temperature. I found a link to a horrible tragedy I heard of in the last two weeks, and surprisingly it occurs more frequently than we think.
Definitely check your water heater’s thermostat, manual, and look into installing these devices in your home. If you are currently building, you can request that safety units be installed “behind the scenes.”
I also received a link recently to this video which shocked me out of my socks! Every parent should see this video— Most kids don’t wake for fire alarms!
They will, however, respond quickly to fire alarms that use the voice of their parent to deliver the warning. I found some of these types of alarms at Amazon and a price comparison at Nextag where you can record the more effective “familiar voice.” Pricey, but safety and piece of mind are invaluable! I am sure after more looking, deals on these items can be found. Just make sure it allows you to record your own voice. For a more formal study on this phenomenon, here is a Pediatric study that was published on the matter as well.
Feel free to leave a comment with your safety tips!
Mama Jen
Add comment April 14th, 2008
My inner Martha Stewart is making a rare appearance these days before she goes back into her usual hibernation….I am organizing a family cookbook!
My husband’s side of our family put together a wonderful family cookbook that each family member can go to when looking for their family’s favorite recipes etc…I loved the idea and wanted to do it for my side of our family.
I found a phenomenal site called Heritage Cookbook. Even Oprah likes it…
The best part of being able to make and publish your family cookbook with this site is that everyone you want to contribute can enter their recipes on their own. You simply sign up, add your desired contributors, and an email is sent to them to invite them to join in on your cookbook adventure! This saves the cookbook organizer from needing to decipher family penmanship and enter in all the recipes. Ugghh…the horror!
Make your own cookbook if you are a “culinary queen,” gift a collection of your family recipes to your mom for mother’s day, or make a cookbook to sell and donate the proceeds to charity! Actually 5% of your purchases to this company go to charity. Also, they only print on FSC approved paper so Heritage Cookbook.com has that great green thing going for them! Great great stuff!
The customer service here is top-notch. When you email Susan Love, the creator of this site a question or comment, she gets right back to you with whatever information you need! That is so valuable!
Enjoy!
Mama Jen
Add comment April 8th, 2008
Shannon Payette Seip and Adrienne Hedger couldn’t have phrased it better when using that line to title their hilarious book about breastfeeding.
When If These Boobs Could Talk landed into my hands, I opened it to take a peek, thinking I would read it in a bit, and….I couldn’t put it down. If you are breastfeeding, are going to breastfeed, or have breastfed your children, every page will speak to you like your ultra-funny girlfriend and have you laughing out-loud!
I love how the book starts with a nice little letter for you to read to your boobs before your baby is born because “it’s only fair to warn your boobs about the changes ahead.” At the end of the book, it suggests ways you can have a “Boob Retirement Party” once your foray into breastfeeding is over—–invite your breast pump and create a slideshow to the tune ”I’ve Had the Time of My Life”…..heeheeee!
The book has side-splitting and inventive illustrations such as ”The Ideal Rocker,” which is a rocking chair set up for the many hours you will need to breastfeed. It thoughtfully includes a button you can push to convert it to a toilet in emergencies amongst other wonderful things I wish my rocker had!
This book is a great, easy read with advice on how to console a rejected breast, alternative uses for nursing pads, reminders of your breast’s super powers and how to find your inner hottie while you feel like a dairy cow.
There are also quizzes like “Who hasn’t seen your boobs?”, great doodling activities, games and trivia to pump yourself up with!
This book is the perfect shower gift, gift to a new mom, or gift to your own breastfeeding self. We all know that laughter is something we most need when we’re up for a late night feeding!
By the way, the book is sized nice and small—perfect for your one free hand to hold and read while your baby feeds!
Mama Jen
Add comment April 3rd, 2008
Recently, I was reading a forum where lots of moms were praising something called a “Balance Bike.” I had no idea what it was, so I HAD to look into it.
Balance bikes are an alternative to the use of training wheels for the beginner cyclist. The balance bikes supposedly allow your child to transition to a full-on bike more easily and quickly than if they had started out using training wheels. That’s because the hardest part—balance—will have been learned.
In my searching I came across an aptly named balance bike company called SKUUT. Scoot is what you can do on these things while your body learns to balance the bike. You can walk them, ride them, “skuut” them or glide them. Definitely something to check out.
Check out the Skuut website or call your local bike shop to see if they have balance bikes for you to look at. Very Interesting!
Mama Jen
Add comment March 31st, 2008
OK. So I’ve often thought I could make my own gift bags — just some cool fabric and a few zigzags on the sewing machine, right? Well, that means that I actually have to get out my sewing machine and go to the store to pick out fabric, iron it, make sure the kids are outta they way before I try to run the sewing machine, etc. etc. So, pretty much, my little spurt of craftiness is not gonna happen.
Enter Lucky Crow fabric bags, owned by Green Approach LLC in Portland, OR. Though I’m a fine papers fanatic, the sustainable/green aspects of our MomAppeal personas LOVE these. By design, they are reusable and, made of fabric, are much sturdier than any of the old paper gift bags, wraps and trimmings I have filling up two bins in my basement. And, the ribbons are attached and the fabric are cool: From the Retro-Rocket Rascals and the Sock Monkey patterns to some ’60s flashback prints (Carnival, Free Spirit and Happy Tree) and even holiday and hip organic prints, you’ll find a design that matches your gifting style and theme.
Lucky Crow bags are sold individually in a range of sizes ($4.50-$13.50), including those that just the right fit for tiny bling boxes, wine bottles, CDs, books and even bigger gifts. The largest size almost fit a Rody bounce-on toy; two extra large bags would work better, and allow you to wrap other similarly sized assembled gifts (we all know wrapping those well with paper is just about impossible).
Or, make your life really easy and choose from one of five collections ($17.99-$115.99) that include bags of assorted sizes and patterns. We love that the Lucky Crow tells you how much purchasing by collection saves vs. ordering oodles of individual bags, and that the company has some fun and free gift tags you can print from your browser window.
Here’s something else we like: Lucky Crow is a member of 1% for the Planet, an international group of businesses that donates one percent of their sales to nonprofit environmental organizations.
Lucky Crow has created a special promotion code for MomAppeal readers — so you can stock up now and be set for birthday parties, house warmings and holidays for the rest of the year. Type in the promotional code MomAppeal at checkout and you’ll receive 20% off any order of $50 or more. Thanks Lucky Crow!
Mama Kate
Add comment March 24th, 2008
