Got a sweet tooth?  Make it happy without going for broke on the sugar-o-meter.  Surf Sweets offer natural, organic, vegetarian yummies like gummy bears, gummy worms, super sour worms, jelly beans, and more.  I just devoured a mini bag of gummy bears and can honestly say I didn't miss the artificial flavorings and sweeteners found in traditional candy.  

Surf Sweets candies are made from organic and natural ingredients without artificial colors or flavors. Our naturally sweet, organic gummy candies and jelly beans are drenched in fresh fruit flavors. Each sweet treat will send you back to the beach.  

 Quick Facts About Surf Sweet Candy:

  

 Made with organic fruit juice and sweeteners

 

  Natural colors & flavors

 

  100% of your daily vitamin C

 

  Free of corn syrup and GMOs

 

  Made in a nut free facility

 

  Gluten free

 

  

 Thanks to SurfSweets for allowing me a taste test!

 

 

 Clicking on the front door of any home takes you inside to visit and each home has its own games and activities.  There are also things to do and look for while cruising along! 

“We wanted to take our Wiggles Fan Club to another level. We just needed to make sure we were going to be able to provide children with an environment that was exciting, fun, educational and safe. WiggleTime.com certainly has all of the right ingredients to provide children with a fantastic Wiggles experience” - Anthony Field (BlueWiggle).  

 

  Staying true to The Wiggles philosophy of “education through entertainment”, WiggleTime.com acts as an early childhood developmental tool for both toddlers and their parents. Each game played on WiggleTime.com contains cognitive, physical and social elements to help benefit the pre-schooler. It also doubles as an educational resource center for parents to monitor their child’s development and be kept up to date with the most recent parenting news.  

 

 

    WiggleTime.com offers an interactive environment enabling preschool children to explore, play and learn with the use of familiar Wiggles themes, destinations and characters. Enjoying Wiggle Time is as simple as jumping into the Big Red Car, buckling your seat belt, and toot-toot chugga chugging down the road to visit some of your favorite Wiggle destinations including Wigglehouse, Dorothy’s House, Wag’s Kennel, Captain Feathersword’s SS Feathersword, or Henry’s Underwater World.

 

 

  The majority of the games found on WiggleTime.com have been designed to be played in stages that progressively get more challenging as the child learns. Each time they complete a game they are rewarded with virtual toys that they not only get to keep but play with as well! In addition to games and activities, WiggleTime.com will also offer preschoolers with a series of video clips on a month-to-month basis.     

 The WiggleTime Interactive Online Play Space For Preschoolers is $5.95 for one month (one pymt), get a 6 month subscription for $5.35/month (pay monthly), or $60/year which includes a bonus 3 months (15 total months = $4/month).  There are also a couple of additional packages available to help support UNICEF and get some bonus goodies in the play space: $41.10 for 6 months and $78/year.

The trial membership for this review was provided by WIggleTime.com.

I was sent, courtesy of the publisher, a review copy of the book Healthy Child, Whole Child – Integrating the Best of Conventional and Alternative Medicine to Keep Your Kids Healthy - by Stuart H Ditchek, M.D. and Russell H. Greenfield, M.D. and found it to be a great reference for exploring options beyond (but not excluding) conventional pediatric care.

…The Whole Person – body, mind, spirit, lifestyle, environment – is taken into account.            …Treatment focuses on the underlying causes of a health problem as well as the symptoms. …The body’s natural capacity for healing is engaged and supported. …Doctor and patient work in partnership. …Care is individualized. …Both conventional and “alternative” therapies are considered. …Emphasis is placed on prevention of medical problems and promotion of healthy behaviors. …Gentler therapies with fewer side effects are tried first.

 

From protection to healthy lifestyle to therapies to medical conditions, Healthy Child, Whole Child is a book you should read when researching or exploring interest in additional methods of pediatric care.        

 

If Mama Don’t Laugh, It Ain’t Funny by Lucy Adams takes a humorous look at the everyday life of Mom.  The stories are hers, but if you’ve been a mom for more than five minutes, there’s no doubt you can relate!   

   

 

I enjoyed If Mama Don’t Laugh, It Ain’t Funny and I have a mild suspicion you might as well.  

 

 

Thanks, Lucy, for sending me this great book – I needed the laughs!        

 

 

Find more reviews by Christy here and here.  

    

 

 

              

 

 

Jamie Ussher of Baby Go Green has created a must have for your kitchen (and an excellent choice for your time and budget as well): A Month Of Meals. 

This e-book provides wonderful information on eating healthier, shopping for less, preparing meals ahead of time, and getting through the dinner prep quickly. 

I especially love the pantry list, which lists all the staples you should keep on hand.  I admit that the kitchen is not my most favorite place, so this list proved very useful to me. I also like that the meals are divided into weekly menu plans, according to ingredients.  Another favorite of mine in this e-book is the six make ahead meals (which she says takes approximately 2.5 hours – not bad for SIX meals!).

I encourage you to check out her wonderful blog and if you could use some extra time and budget help when it comes to meal planning and execution, check out the e-book (only $6.95 – not bad at all for all the info inside!).

Although I live in Canada and a lot of the prices don't apply, the principles do.  She has a list of produce that cost under 20 dollars.  I haven't priced it out but I'm sure it would be a lot more here, especially during the winter months.  And she has a number of chicken recipes and unless I can find a friend to get a chicken from chicken is really expensive and hard to find in our small town store.

I currently do not have an oven and some of the recipes given are baked.  I will either have to change these to another recipe or figure out a way to cook the food in a crockpot, on a griddle or in the bbq.  The author has done a lot of the work for me.  The substitutions will be easy - just a meal here and there.  Using her plan I will be able to integrate our favorites with some new ideas presented in her plan!

I love the section on meals to make ahead of time.  I really need to do this; she makes it look so easy.  The meals to make ahead are easy and enjoyed by my family already.  The author focuses on healthy eating and exercise.  There is a link to a different food pyramid.  I plan to go examine more; a different take that may just "speak my language".  There are other charts and lists and helps too.  The author has done her research and has an easy to follow plan.

Disclosure: This e-book was graciously sent to me by the author.

A small 3”x5” piece of ingenious arrived in my mailbox one day.  As parents, our babies and children’s safety come first, even if it clashes with our décor. It is a small price to pay and we accept it willingly. Well, the folks at Cover Plug must have had stylish parents in mind {as well as kicking the safety up a notch} when they created this.  The Cover Plug covers the entire outlet, so it isn’t as attractive to curious little ones as the little clear plugs.  Also? It can be painted to match the wall color, which essentially makes it disappear – beautiful! Not only will you not have those unsightly plastic plugs everywhere, but unused outlets will no longer be noticeable. {This means it also basically disappears to your little one.}

An ingenious baby product that promotes safety AND has the stylish parent in mind? Win!

I’ve found it.  Fashion’s New Best Friend.  Created to eliminate the gap between shirt buttons, Peek-A-Boob strips also help to hide bra straps, secure wrap style skirts & shirts, secure revealing necklines, a quick fix for a hemline, and more.

It is the “more” where Peek-A-Book really came in handy for me.  These are small, heavy duty, double sided fabric tape strips and though the uses can truly be unlimited, it came to my rescue during my trip to Utah when I bought a pair of jeans that needed to be hemmed, but there wasn’t time to have them hemmed before I wore them. Peek-A-Boob to the rescue!  With the combination of Peek-A-Book strips, spray starch, and an iron, I was able to adjust the hem on the jeans and keep the look neat and clean. 

The tin is small, perfect to slip into your purse… which is where you want to keep it because you never know when you might have a minor mishap and need a little fabric 911.  

Whether you are a stay at home mom or a full time career gal, we all know the stress is there and days can get long and the last thing we want to have to think about is whether or not our deoderant can handle what our day holds in store.

Thanks to Dove’s Clinical Protection anti-perspirant deoderant solid in your arsenal, you can concentrate on the important things and know that you are protected, no matter what life throws at you.

I had the opportunity to try out Cool Essentials for myself {it is also available in Original Clean} and I’m happy to report it has this woman’s and mom’s seal of approval.