Jul

27

Back to School Review & Giveaway from MightyNest

Filed Under Food Safety, Green Mama, Product Reviews | 223 Comments

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    I know, you’re thinking “Back to school already? It’s still JULY.” But, some of you can relate to me because my son starts Kindergarten on August 8th. Which is so bizarre to me having grown up in New York where school was a distant thought until Labor Day.  Anyway, so since many kids will be going back to the books in August I am happy to feature some great items that will make going back to school a little less toxic and of course, waste free.  One of my favorite non-toxic retailers is MightyNest.com.  So of course, shopping for lunch gear is made rather simple by stopping in their online shop.  They have a great selection of reusable lunch gear for kids and adults.  What I love most is their reluctance to sell items that are primarily plastic.  So I’d like to highlight a few favorite products and then give them away.  Sound good?

    Life Factory Glass Beverage Bottles – These cuties are almost a replica of their larger glass bottles, one of which I have sitting on my desk as I type this filled with water, ice and lemon slices.  They are a 9 ounce glass bottle that fits in a lunch bag and is adorned with a silicone sleeve to prevent breaking.  Though I’ve tried to smash a few Life Factory products in my time and have been pretty unsuccessful.  I love being able to use glass instead of plastic to hold liquids, especially for my kids.  This would be perfect for an older kid, tween or teenager – Hey, they need stuff too!  My 5 year old loves it because it’s just like mine, but the wider opening is cause for some spillage so I don’t know I’d trust him at school with it.  MightyNest does carry a sippy adapter for these though so they can be used for the young ones too. I’m a big fan of Life Factory’s products. Now if only they’d make a sport cap so I can take mine to the gym….

    SnackTAXI snack and sandwich bags – These have primarily replaced any need for plastic wrap in my kids lunch boxes. They are reusable fabric bags that are lined with coated nylon. They can be machine washed and dried or very simply wiped clean with a damp sponge or washcloth.  I just rinse them out and dry them overnight.  You can fit a regular sized sandwich, veggies, or a generous portion of dry snacks in one snackTAXI.  With the sandwich I like to wrap it with a snackTAXI and then encase it in a reusable sandwich box to prevent squashing.  When you carry a reusable bottle to school it can be heavy and smush your carefully crafted sandwich.  I love these for bringing snacks to preschool or to the playground too.  They have really cute designs too!

    LunchBots Uno Stainless Steel Food Containers – Ok I know I’ve gushed about LunchBots before but it bears repeating.  I love these little containers and so do the kids.  When I first started shopping for alternatives to plastic for lunch storage I had a hard time finding something that fit a regular sized sandwich. Anyone who uses whole wheat or whole grain bread knows that the slices are pretty big and hearty.  I can fit a regular sized or larger size sandwich in one of these no problem. Once in a while I might have to cut off a corner or two if it’s misshapen bread but mostly, it works great.  My son can open the container himself and it comes back from school empty. I also love these for carrying snacks and the LunchBots Duo is perfect for sending in fruit or dry snacks.  I am a fan of their Rounds containers too.  A little birdie told me they are coming out with an insulated round soon.

    Stop by MightyNest.com to find these and other great reusable lunch gear.  They’ve just added lunch boxes and back packs too.

    Win All Three!

    MightyNest has so generously offered to give one SAfeMama reader a set of the above items just in time for back to school!

    Here’s How To Enter (Required):

    Visit MightyNest and have a look around.  Tell me in the comments what back to school items you would love to have for your kids or for yourself!

    For Extra Entries:(You must leave a comment for each extra entry for them to count and you must have already completed the required entry method above):

    • Fan/Like  SafeMama on Facebook (first name, last initial)
    • Fan/Like  MightyNest on Facebook (first name, last initial)
    • Sign up for MightyNest’s Newsletter for inside tips on new products! (first name, last initial)
    • Follow @SafeMama on Twitter (Twitter name)
    • Follow @MightyNest on Twitter (Twitter name)
    • Subscribe to SafeMama.com via feedburner email
    • Follow me on Google Friend Connect!
    • Tweet this giveaway (CAN BE RETWEETED ONCE A DAY – Just leave the link to the tweet itself each day in the comments): Enter to #WIN reusable lunch gear from @MightyNest on @SafeMama! #giveaway ends 8/2 http://tinyurl.com/3k7cqfz

    One US winner will be selected at random using Random.org.  Entries will be accepted until August 2, 2011 at midnight EST.  Good Luck!  Thank you MightyNest!

    Congratulations to Nathalee G. commenter #204!

    Jul

    21

    Purple Prairie Bug Stuff Review

    Filed Under Product Reviews, Product Safety, Skin Care | 2 Comments

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      So as you can probably guess, the cheat sheet for bug repellents got back burnered this summer.  Seriously, I don’t know how anyone gets anything done in the summer time.  I feel like I am constantly shuttling kids from one place to another and when I’m not, I’m trying to keep them busy with projects so I can work. (Have I mentioned I have a web design job too? Shoot me.) Summer is impossible! So in lieu I wanted to do a quick review of a bug spray that I have been testing out for my friend at Lullaby Organics.  She sent us the Purple Prairie Bug Stuff and Bug Lotion to try out.

      I live in Georgia this time of year.  Near Atlanta.  Which should just be renamed Hot Swamp because holy, it is hot here.  I’m talking muggy, baking bread on the driveway hot. It’s ridiculous.  So the only time of day we can play with the kids outside is when the sun goes down.  And of course, as many of you can relate, once the sun is out of sight, swarms of mosquitoes and little biting bugs come out to play too.

      Since Purple Prairie has such a nice sunscreen I was excited to try their bug products too.  I habitually doused myself and the kids with the spray a few nights in a row and then switched off to the lotion for a few nights.   Most natural bug repellents smell pretty pungent from the oils they use to repel bugs.  The idea is to mask the scent of your CO2 and body scent so that the bugs cannot find you.  Reapplication is key with natural bug repellents.  That said, they are still smelly.  Purple Prairie utilizes a variety of bug repelling oils instead of chemicals to help scare off bugs. However they have figured out how to make it a little less smelly than others.  It still has the telltale scent of citronella but it’s not quite as overpowering as some.

      We had the most success with the Bug Lotion this year.  Sure it’s a little more of a pain to apply but it seemed to yield less bites overall, perhaps because the concentration on the skin is higher versus the spray.  Believe me, I know the appeal of a spray since it’s so much easier.  But I had to use a lot to get adequately coated.  The lotion lasts a little longer and I didn’t see as many bug bites on myself compared to the spray.  I also like the price point on these, though again I have to say the lotion is more bang for your buck.  If you live somewhere that doesn’t have a big bug issue in the summer than the spray might work out nicely.

      My only gripe with natural repellents is that the ingredients are iffy for use on kids under three.  Though, I’d rather risk an essential oil on my 2 year old than DEET.

      Get Bug Stuff: You can buy both the Purple Prairie Bug Stuff Spray and Lotions on Lullaby Organics!

      Jul

      8

      City Planner Blocks from Pure Play Kids (Giveaway!)

      Filed Under Healthy Home, Product Recalls, Toy Safety | 181 Comments

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        I was looking around my house not long ago and wondering how I ended up with so many plastic toys.  It shows up and it accumulates. My biggest peeve with most plastic toys is not that it may not be recyclable or clog up a landfill, but that many times the plastic stuff only entertains them for a short period of time.

        City Planner Blocks

        The bells and whistles and sounds and automatic features don’t really challenge a kids imagination much.  It might keep them busy for a few minutes.  The toys that keep my two boys busy the longest, are the ones that rely on their imagination like blocks and building toys.

        I was recently introduced to Pure Play Kids that specializes in just that.  Toys that are designed to spark the imagination and learning through play time with natural toys and games.  For review they sent us a set of City Planner Blocks by Haba for the boys to check out.  I love blocks and my kids do too, so I knew these would be a big hit.  The blocks are made in Europe with beech hardwood and finished with natural water-based lacquers.

        The set includes the basic blocks needed to create all kinds of towering cities or low lying structures, and it includes people, trees, dogs and benches to complete the scene.  All the pieces are fun (though some are small so the set is recommended for kids 3 and up) but if your kids are like mine, they always come up with their own ways of using building supplies to fit their scenario.  My older son (5) created a winding labyrinth of roads to park small cars in and drive through.

        My son playing with City Planner Blocks by Haba

        On another play day he used them in conjunction with another set of plain blocks we have to enhance a long tunnel into a construction site.  They are still in regular rotation around here because they have more possibilities than the Handy Manny Workshop he begged for and used maybe twice. The City Planner Blocks have provided tons of playtime and fun for my son.  I will forever stick by my conviction that simple toys are the best investment.

        Pure Play Kids has a great selection of toys that are selected because of their safety and their ability to bring out their creativity and imagination at play time rather than just keeping them busy.  But the beauty of that is this style of toys will do both. You can expect to see Pure Play Kids on this years Toy Guide come the holidays.

        Get Them: You can order the City Planner Blocks set or any of their great toys from Pure Play Kids!

        Win!

        Pure Play Kids has so generously offered to give one of my SafeMama readers a $50 gift certificate to their shop! Thank you Pure Play Kids!

        Here’s How To Enter (Required):

        Visit Pure Play Kids and have a look around.  Tell me in the comments what toys or games you would love to have for your kids (or for a friend/relative)!

        For Extra Entries:(You must leave a comment for each extra entry for them to count and you must have already completed the required entry method above):

        • Fan/Like  SafeMama on Facebook (first name, last initial)
        • Fan/Like  Pure Play Kids on Facebook (first name, last initial)
        • Follow @SafeMama on Twitter (Twitter name)
        • Follow @pureplaykids on Twitter (Twitter name)
        • Subscribe to SafeMama.com via feedburner email
        • Follow me on Google Friend Connect!
        • Tweet this giveaway (CAN BE RETWEETED ONCE A DAY – Just leave the link to the tweet itself each day in the comments): Enter to #WIN a $50 Gift Card from @PurePlayKids on @SafeMama!#giveaway ends 7/18 http://tinyurl.com/42pfhlt

        One US winner will be selected at random using Random.org.  Entries will be accepted until July 18, 2011 at midnight EST.  Good Luck!  Thank you Pure Play Kids!

        Congratulations Colleen M, commenter #103!

        Jul

        1

        TruKid Releases New Sunscreen Products

        Filed Under Skin Care | 2 Comments

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          TruKid Safe For Baby SPF 30 Mineral Sunscreen

          I’ve been watching TruKids new developments with pure excitement because when I first started this journey on SafeMama I really loved their products especially their sunscreen.  As I learned more about ingredients there were some things that nagged at me and I made the difficult decision to exclude their product from the Sunscreen Cheat Sheet for the last 2 years.  It broke my heart for many reasons, one being I love their company and their product, and so did many others.  So I had to defend my decision pretty hard. It wasn’t an easy decision and it’s one I met with many people defending the opposite stance.

          However, this year they have come out with two new versions of their sunscreen.  They have removed phenoxyethanol from these two new formulas and are instead using a milder preservative that doesn’t sound any alarm bells for me.  They are back in my good graces and I am so happy about that.  They released their new TruKid Sunny Days SPORT SPF 30 sunscreen and today I saw in their newsletter that they have come up with their Safe For Babies Mineral Sunscreen SPF 30 which is safe for babies under 6 months according to TruKid! They also have a Safe For Baby SPORT version as well.

          I’ve not tried the new formulas but am about to order some to test them out. I will publish my findings when I do. Thanks TruKid :)

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