Parenting Children

Last year I reviewed The Daring Book For Girls, which I loved. It had pages upon pages of fun things to learn, games I played as a child and facts and tips. Now they have a sequel to the popular book, The Double-Daring Book for Girls.

Again, this book is perfect for girls of all ages and perfect with the long summer months ahead of us. From how to tie a sarong, picnic games and dyeing your hair with Kool aid to how to make a sundial and moon lore, this book is packed with great information!
I love these books and have purchased them as gifts for my nieces. This is an easy, inexpensive way to get all of your children, not just girls, some summer fun and excitement. It also makes a great gift idea for hard to buy for girls (all of them!).

How about a little challenge. There is a section of this book called, “How to Hula-Hoop”. I was a hula-hopper from way back so I thought this would be no problem. I had to get my rhythm back and I finally made my best time with 18 times around before I nearly tripped and fell.
Can you beat me?
Try your best and leave your best hula-hooping skillz in the comments!

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Now that schools are letting out for the year and summer vacations are upon us, I am always looking for some family friendly things to do. At the end of the day when the kids are worn out from their fun, television is a great go to activity for our family. I try to watch TV with my kids and monitor what they watch as well. During the summer, the networks will all have on reruns and reality TV that is not appropriate for little ones, and there is only so many times I am willing to watch Finding Nemo.

Starting this month, TCM is launching TCM Essentials Jr., bringing families together by making moving watching a family experience. TCM Essentials Jr. will have classic must see movies every Sunday night suitable for the whole family. This year it is hosted John Lithgow and it gegins Sunday, June 7 at 8 p.m.

Tony®, Emmy® and Golden Globe®-winning actor John Lithgow is coming to Turner Classic Movies (TCM) to host this summer’s edition of TCM’s ESSENTIALS JR. Lithgow, who has also earned acclaim as a children’s author, will present 13 classic films ideal for parents to introduce to their kids, beginning Sunday, June 7, with the musical classic Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942). The following is a complete schedule:

June 7 Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)

June 14 To Have and Have Not (1944)

June 21 Father of the Bride (1950)

June 28 The Philadelphia Story (1940)

July 5 Mr. Hulot’s Holiday (1953)

July 12 The African Queen (1951)

July 19 An American in Paris (1951)

July 26 High Noon (1952)

Aug. 2 Heaven Can Wait (1978)

Aug. 9 Notorious (1946)

Aug. 16 It Happened at the World’s Fair (1963)

Aug. 23 Gaslight (1944)

Aug. 30 You Can’t Take It With You (1938)

I also love the book The Best Old Movies for Families: A Guide For Watching Together and would be a good companion to these movies this summer!

TCM, TCM Essentials Jr., family movies, summer fun, John Lithgow, parenting, old movies for kids, parenting children, kids, school age kids, teens

Before I had kids I worked for a food broker. Yes, there is such a thing.
I know all the big names when it comes to the grocery store and Unilever is one of the biggest. With brands like Good Humor, Ragu, Skippy, Slim Fast, Wish Bone, Degree, All, Ben & Jerry’s, Dove, Breyers and Country Crock, I am sure you have many of their products in your home right now. Unilever has a web site called Making Life Better to help people make great choices and make our dollar go as far as it can.

Making Life Better has various information on products, beauty and style, news, tips, vitality, wellness and home, workout ideas and family. I love that under the tab news and offers they have sweepstakes, video recipes from celebrity chef Cat Cora and makeup tips!
I love their recipe ideas they have because we get into a summer food rut really quickly around here! I can’t wait to try the mulled berry “sangria” and the inside out burgers this summer!
They also have a budget recipes section where they have lots of great recipes to feed any family on a budget, like eggplant parmesean soup or country style glazed ham. Yum!

Check out Making Life Better for yourself and be more inspired.
You can also check them out on You Tube for more great information and videos.

Making Life Better, mom central, recipes, Summer recipes, Unilever, web site reviews, moms, mothers, parenting, parenting children, budget recipes

I am just culling my kids’ books from our move. Some of their books are baby-ish and others don’t hold their interest anymore, so I put them aside for baby K. Then I came across our big old stash of Wild Animal Baby magazines from the National Wildlife Federation that my children got as a gift from their Grandmother. My kids were wild about this magazine and I know baby K will love them too.

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Summer is right around the corner and one thing I always have to have fully stocked in the summer is ice cream! Ice cream is a summer staple! The kids, my husband and I love trying new pops, cones and frozen treats as well as making our own. My waistline does not take to all of these treats so I try and keep some lighter frozen treats just for me.

I have tried The Skinny Cow ice cream bars (truffle bars, delish!) before and I have really enjoyed them. Mom Central gave me the chance to try the Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches and I say “YUM!”
What I like about these sandwiches is that they are a generous size and they offer such great flavor choices: chocolate peanut butter, strawberry shortcake, chocolate/vanilla, vanilla, mint, cookies ‘n cream and no sugar added vanilla.
I tried the mint and chocolate/vanilla and they were very good for 130 calories and 2g of fat!

The ice cream itself tastes more like frozen yogurt than ice cream, which is to be expected with light ice creams. It is creamy and the cookie outside is delightful. I will buy these again and try all of the flavors they offer. I didn’t feel cheated and I didn’t want more than one.
I think this will be a perfect summer treat for me when my skinny kids are getting one of everything from the ice cream truck!

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With my six year old daughter writing signs that say “reduce, reuse, recycle” around the house, we try to remember to do our part. We recycle, we use energy star appliances, we mostly wash our clothes in cold water, but bottled water? That was our downfall.
We use bottled water often and those leftover plastic bottles, really add up.

Enter BioGreen bottles, the original biodegradeable bottle. From their site: “Our BioGreen BottlesTM made from low density poly ethylene (LDPE) plastic with EcoPure additive is the best “green” solution available for sports bottles. This additive creates an accelerated biodegradable cycle which occurs in the common anaerobic environment you find in landfills or compost facilities. EcoPure additive is completely organic, non-starch based and non-destructive to the environment. EcoPure is Non-toxic and actually helps the environment. The final product left behind with EcoPure is Humus and Methane (Bio-Mass and Bio-gas). The humus can be used as new soil to grow plants in and the methane may be harvested into fuel.”

Their line of bottles are made with soft, easy to squeeze
LDPE plastic material with EcoPure additive and feature a exclusive leakproof DuoFlow Lid. They are completely Biodegradable, Recyclable, Reusable and are made from post industrial Recycled Material. My kids think they are easy to use, they are light, and they love carrying them around with them. I love that the small kid’s line has a tethered lid so the top will never get lost.
I also love that we are no longer using bottled water and put our filtered water right into these awesome bottles.

Want your own?
They are available in 5 colors with a BioGreen logo, and in stock eco-friendly graphic art designs. BioGreen bottles can be purchased on Amazon.

Want to win a set of BioGreen bottles?
Biogreen has generously donated 2 toddler bottles and 2 adult bottles to two lucky Parenting Our Children readers!

To Enter: Visit BioGreenbottles.com and tell me something else you learned that I didn’t mention in this post AND tell me if you would like to win the toddler or adult set of bottles.

Contest ends June 1 at midnight EST.
Winner will be chosen at random. Open to U.S.

BioGreen, BioGreen bottles, water bottles, safe water bottles, recycling, keeping your home green, giveaways, parenting, healthy children, eco-friendly toddler products

I have been writing about spring cleaning a lot lately, can you guess what we have been doing in this house? I have to clean well since I have allergies and dust does not work well with allergies. Today I want to tell you about an amazing product I got to try out in my home, Protect-A-Bed.

Protect-A-Bed is the world’s first ultra thin mattress protector. Their mattress protectors are made from natural cotton Terry toweling with a polyurethane Miracle membrane backing. It’s 100% waterproof, breathable, allergy free, easy to care for and helps make your sleep environment more comfortable.
I know you have seen some story about bed bugs and dust mites and how they are all over our mattresses. Did you know that the human body loses at least a half-litre of body fluids through the skin pores and mouth as well as millions of skin flakes? Well that is what dust mites and bed bugs feed on!
Gross, I know.

The Protect-A-Bed mattress protector helps you fight against these gross creatures. I tried out the Premium Mattress Protector which is their popular mid market model. It’s completely waterproof and repels liquid like urine or sweat. It’s also breathable and allows airflow through the mattress and bedding.

These are the first mattress covers I’ve found to provide waterproof protection that doesn’t make you feel like you are sleeping on a plastic, baby mattress protector. The expandable skirt will ensure they easily fit any mattress depth from 8″ to 20″ and I’m happy to say that all Protect-a-Bed items are tested for harmful substances according to strict Oeko-Tex Standard 100 which makes me feel great about what I am putting on my bed.
Check them out for mattress protectors, crib protectors, pillow protectors and more!

Protect-A-Bed, mattress protectors, pillow protectors, bed bugs, dust mites, spring cleaning, keeping your mattress clean, bed wetting, allergies

It is that time of year again. Time to take out the warmer weather clothes, time to wash and pack up all of the sweaters and winter coats, to open windows, to exchange your flannel sheets for cotton ones. In other words, time to clean the house from top to bottom!
Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy having a clean house so cleaning is something I don’t mind- IF I have the right tools.

Hoover engineers have used the learnings of 100 years of innovation to develop the new Hoover Platinum Collection™, featuring six floor care products, like a handheld vac and a stick vac, that deliver unmatched cleaning performance along with specially designed features to make cleaning faster and easier. With products ranging from upright vacuums to carpet cleaners to cordless units, there is a Platinum Collection model for every home and every task.

The Hoover Platinum collection seems terrific and even gives other leading vacuums a run for their money. I am most interested in the carpet cleaner:

I would love to get my hands on that, instnat satisfaction! I would even offer to come and clean your carpets for you!

Does anyone have one of the Hoover Platinum Collections? I would love to hear first hand how well they works.

I am running a giveaway over at my other site, please go over and check it out to enter to win a Evenflo breast pump!

Hoover, Hoover Platinum Collection, vacuums, spring cleaning, cleaning your home

I was so excited to try the E-cloth and I was skeptical at first. I have tried microfiber cloths before and they were okay, but not great. They seemed to hold smells and cleaned well, but not great. I am trying to keep my house as green as possible with as little cost as possible- we are all hurting in this economy. The E-cloth is better than any other microfiber cloth I have ever used in the past!

The difference that allows E-cloth to deliver an exceptional level of clean with just water and retain this ability over a lifespan of 300+ washes is derived from using only the highest grades of raw materials and a state-of-the-art manufacturing process.
There are many factories producing microfiber using lower grades of material, especially in China, where up to 75% of inexpensive microfiber are unprocessed resulting in poor cleaning qualities. The E-cloth is woven by proprietary machinery into fabric of 80% polyester and 20% polyamide.
The E-cloth worked wonders on my stainless appliances, the glass shower door, counter tops and windows. It cleaned and left everything streak free! Better yet, I did it all with the E-cloth and just water! No harsh chemicals to breathe in, or left on my countertops.
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Now that we have moved into our new house, it is time to start fixing things up and changing things around. On the top of my list is the kitchen, I want to update all of the appliances and I need a new, bigger washer and dryer. I have been researching appliances lately and I am just in love with Electrolux appliances.

Not aware of Electrolux appliances? Take a virtual tour of a kitchen filled with these amazing, time and energy efficient models, like this hybrid cook top that boils water in 90 seconds! Check out their new washers & dryers which features the fastest wash and dry times available, the largest capacity washers and dryers stylish design and bold new colors!

Starting today, when you go to http://www.electroluxappliances.com/ and plant a virtual flower for a friend, Electrolux will donate $1 to Global Green USA to support their healthy green schools initiatives across America. Everyone who logs on to the site and plants a virtual flower will be automatically entered for a chance to win a new eco-friendly Kelly Green (named after eco-friendly mom and spokeswoman, Kelly Ripa) front-load washer and dryer! How cool is that?! Mom Central is giving one away as well. So go check the site out and send a virtual flower and help to raise funds for Global Green USA.

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When a representative from Ecostore contacted me and asked if I would like to try out their products, I was excited. I love finding new Earth-friendly cleaners and soaps. I decided to try the automatic dishwasher powder and the lemon rinse aid. I had not found an environmentally friendly dishwasher soap that cleaned well at all, and it makes me sick thinking about what chemicals were in traditional soaps, so I was eager to give this one a try.

The Auto Dish Powder is a high performance blend of simple mineral salts, citrus and Coconut oils. Stuck on food and grease won’t stand a chance when it comes to the NO NASTY CHEMICAL products from Ecostore USA.
I LOVE this product. I am raving about it to everyone I know, it cleans even better that my regular, chemical ridden soap and doesn’t leave food deposits or streaks. You need so little of the product too, like a tablespoon. Of course I read this only after the bottle was 1/4 gone already and I was putting in at least 2x that!
I will never buy another dishwasher soap again!
My only complaint is the container, I wish it had a different spout. More than one time I have poured out too much and had to scoop some back in.

The lemon rinse aid is a dream, not too fragrant, it leaves my dishes sparkly and no spots! It is the same price as traditional rinse aids too.

I loved these products so much I am excited to try the baby care line, pet lineand other cleaners! Buy now, April is Earth Month - All Orders of $25 or more qualify for FREE Shipping!

Ecostore, Eco-friendly cleaners, natural cleaners, baby care, Earth month, Earth-freindly cleaners, dishwashing soap, lemon rinse aid

I always try to stay away from too much candy and junk for Easter because I don’t want my kids to have too much and I don’t want to eat it either! This year will be no different and we are trying to keep our Easter “green”. Here are some alternatives to candy and junk and some tips to be more Earth friendly for your Easter.

Say no to plastic grass. Grow your own. This is easy and looks great in a basket or for a table centerpiece. I have seen edible grass in Target that you can use as an alternative. Have your kids color or paint some paper and shred it for their baskets.

Use natural dyes for eggs. Boil your eggs in water with vinegar and one of these ingredients below, then let simmer for at least 15 minutes:

Purple grape juice (for lavender)
Red cabbage (for blue)
Spinach (for green)
Carrot tops, orange peels or lemon peels (for yellow)
Yellow onion skins (for orange)
Beets or cranberries (for pink)
Red onion skins (for red)

Skip the candy. If you have to use plastic eggs (we use the same ones every year) fill them with coins, almonds or raisins. Or you can just hide the dyed eggs.

Skip the toys. Don’t you have too many toys anyway?
Instead maybe buy books, puzzles, outdoor chalk, phthalate free bath toys (bunnies or ducks are perfect) or bubbles (you can even make the bubbles yourself).

What do you plan on doing to make your Easter a little more “green”?

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Finding the right gift for kids these days is hard for me, they seem to have everything.
Are you looking for a one-of-a-kind gift for that special child in your life? Something that is as unique as they are? Enter Child’s Own Studio.

Child’s Own Studio is a special place where you can transform your child’s drawing into a custom plush doll or soft toy. That is right, make a toy out of a drawing your child made! Anything in your child’s imagination for the first time can be made into their own personal lovey.
Wendy was generous enough to make a softie for my daughter from the drawing of a princess she has made.

Drawing by R age 5

I loved this drawing because of how detailed her dress was, I loved the way my daughter had drawn her shoes. Wendy made the doll exactly like her picture and we couldn’t have been more happy with the results! You can tell it was made with love.
Don’t believe me? Check out the gallery of other amazing softies she has made.
Wendy will make any drawing that is a recognizable person, place or thing.

A Child’s Own custom made soft toy starts at $50 CAD, plus shipping. Drawings containing many details and/or many colours will require more labor and therefore be priced accordingly. After payment is received, expect your special toy in 2-4 weeks!

Wendy was amazing to work with and I cannot say how much I love this site.

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As a child I was an avid reader and my parents loved it, little did they know it would be their downfall.
When I was 8 I was reading “Are You There God, It’s me Margaret” By Judy Blume. All girls know this book it is about, basically, periods. I remember sitting in the backseat of my parent’s car driving to my great Aunt’s house for Easter dinner. I came on the word “menstruation”. I didn’t know what it meant so I asked my parents.
My father turned down the car radio and said “What did you say?”
“What does men-STRU-ation mean?”
My parents looked at each other and my mom said “we will talk about it later”
“But how can I read this book, when they keep talking about menstruation, it PERTAINS TO THE STORY!”
“We can talk about it later!” my mom repeated.

I was pissed. She was ruining my book.

My Little Red Book is an anthology of stories about first periods, collected from women of all ages from around the world. Some of the stories are hilarious and others are sad. I loved this book and plan on sharing it with my daughter when she is ready for “the talk“.
It is a book I wish I had when I was a teenager. I think it is a great conversation starter for girlfriends or mothers and daughters.

Lucky for you I have FIVE copies of My Little Red Book to give away!

Think back to your first period, was it shocking or were you ready and prepared for it? I want to hear your first period stories for a chance to win a copy of this great book.

Leave a comment here by 11:59 March 1st.
Open to US residents and Canada and sorry, no PO boxes.

My Little Red Book, periods, your first period, menstruation, woman, giveaways, book reviews, reviews, Rachel Kauder-Nalebuff

Sometimes you are looking for the perfect something for yourself or for your love. Something original, something special, something nobody has done before. Enter Miss Alie Ward from Curiology. She has what you are looking for.

Alie is a painter and lover of all things beautiful. She is known in L.A. for her apparel line and her paintings which she does almost exclusively on wood! She is creative and lovely and I have had the pleasure of trying one of her awesome custom tattoo shirts.
The old-school tattoo design is silk-screened on a 100% cotton jersey shirt, and they hand-letter the name of the love of your choosing. Available in women’s and men’s!

These are 100% cotton jersey knit by American Apparel shirts, which I think runs slightly smaller than regular, so if you have a question about size, order a size up! They come in black or white from size small to X-large.
It washed well and is so unique! I have received many compliments already.
I will be ordering one for my husband very soon!

Perfect for someone who wants to “try out” a tattoo without the commitment, for new moms or dads, for Father’s Day, an anniversary or just because you want to declare your love! This is a great gift idea for anyone on your list for any occasion.

Also, check out Alie’s art work and her blog!

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