Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Bringing Awareness to EMF & RF Radiation Health Risks

The following is a guest post from Mark Kramer of HARApad, Mark is an engineer with a passion to help people live their lifestyle without the harm from radiation from electronic devices.

Extremely low frequency (ELF) radiation and radio frequencies (RF) expose you to different levels of radiation. RF devices include mobile phones, induction heaters, and antennas. ELF on the other hand is associated with video display terminals and AC electricity. The electromagnetic fields (EMFs) created by modern technology have a significant impact on human health. With considerable research conducted on EMF suggesting a negative impact on health, it is now more important than ever to protect yourself. As a result, to better understand the health risks associated with electromagnetic radiation (EMR), please refer to the infographic below.


ELF & RF Radiation Health Risks – Infographic - An Infographic from HARApad Laptop Radiation Shield Products
 

Monday, September 28, 2015

buybuy BABY :: Helping You Through The Adventures of Babyhood

Sometimes I step back, take a deep breath, and feel the overwhelming sense that these days are not going to last. These precious moments of motherhood with my children simply will not keep. The days are long and tiring, and yet far too short. 

The baby stage is like a fleeting moment, gone before we realize it's already passed. Baby girl is still a baby, but I feel like I blinked and she's suddenly a big girl! Sitting up, starting solids, rolling everywhere and even (finally) starting to nap on her own. This time of babyhood moves fast, but it sure is beautiful. 
 
Thank you to buybuy BABY for sponsoring today's discussion. All opinions are 100% my own.

Along for the adventure, I'm thrilled to share that I've partnered with buybuy BABY once again to kick off their babyhood Influencer Network. On occasion I'll be sharing about my favorite new finds at buybuy BABY and how I use them to further enhance the grand experiences of motherhood as I raise baby girl through babyhood. Through the joys and triumphs, the ups and downs, and the tears and frustrations, buybuy BABY can help guide you through.   

Register for your baby shower with the guidance of a buybuy BABY Registry Consultant who has the expertise to help you every step of the way. Buybuy BABY has a massive selection of competitively priced baby products to celebrate babyhood and beyond, and everything that comes with it. They carry every baby essential and all the fun stuff too! From baby gear to apparel, swaddle blankets, feeding accessories, maternity and nursing wear, toys, nursery decor and so much more. Literally everything you need from pregnancy to toddlerhood can be found at buybuy BABY!

 
We just passed baby girls' half birthday. For six whole months we have been blessed with her beautiful presence. These precious days will not keep. The good, the great, and the difficult will just be memories. 

I will miss her sweet laugh and her rolling across the room. I will miss her chubby cheeks and her little baby hands and feet. I will miss worrying about her breathing while she sleeps. I will miss the hours of her screaming nearly every day for months, saddened I couldn't fix her. I will miss middle of the night nursing sessions. I will miss needing to carry her for naps. I will miss this time I'll never get back

And so I choose to relish in these moments, in this time, and in this babyhood while I have it. No regrets. Just a joyful heart through all the adventures to come. 
 

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Shopping for School Supplies Made Easy With Shoplet #BackToSchool {Giveaway - Ends 10/4}

This back to school season we're stocked up on school supplies thanks to Shoplet, the #1 virtual e-tailer for school and office supplies. Pencils, paper, scissors, tape, markers, copy paper, notebooks, binders, planners, whiteboards - you name it, they've got it. 

I received complimentary product for review purposes. All opinions are 100% my own. 

Shoplet carries all my favorite school and office supply brands. They actually sell over 1,000,000 products! While browsing may seem intimidating, everything is categorized well and the constant search bar at the top is very handy if you're looking for something specific.

I LOVE shopping for school supplies, and stocking up for the entire year if at all possible. After the stress of planning out the school year, I look forward to this part and the homeschool area organization that seems to comes with it. This year I'm doing a lot more online shopping because let's face it, shopping with a 5-month-old is not always a piece of cake.


My Shoplet order arrived in multiple shipments to everything would be delivered as soon as it was available. Some of the items we ordered include our favorite Ticonderoga pencils and Magic Rub erasers, HP multipurpose paper, Expo dry erase markers and Avery tab dividers to organize Buddy's various notebooking subjects. Our homeschool is stocked and ready for a great year!

Our day starts off with morning chores, so I also ordered some awesome chore charts to help keep Buddy on track in the morning when he wakes up. He eats breakfast, makes his bed, gets dressed, and brushes his hair and teeth before we move on to Math and the rest of our day. Paired with these Smiles Stickers, we're ready to mark off completed chores everyday to teach responsibility, cleanliness and obedience. The potential for allowance at the end of the week is an added bonus and big motivator.

There are many advantages to shopping at Shoplet. Not only do they have an insane selection of essential back to school supplies, but they will price match and give you an extra 10% off the item in question. Customer care is US-based and available by email, phone, or live online chat to help with your order. Shoplet also offers a low minimum order amount of $25 to qualify for free shipping. Ready to get shopping?


Enter To Win:
One of my readers will receive free shipping and $30 off their order at Shoplet!

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Baby Girl's Got Style with Pediped Originals {Giveaway - Ends 9/27}

I received complimentary product for review purposes. All opinions are 100% my own.

Simple style goes from bland to grand with a pop of bright colors and floral fun with these beautiful Pediped Originals in Louisa Denim. This time baby girl is here and gets to model her sweet little Pedipeds right away! These are just too sweet for words, aren't they?

The wonderful folks at Pediped surprised me with these as a baby gift for baby girl! I may have let out a squeal when I saw them. The pink, the floral print, the denim, the CUTENESS! I could hardly handle it. Despite all the girly flair and major personality of this style, they really coordinate well with most of baby's girls wardrobe. I officially have a major thing for Pediped.

This mary jane style features a velcro closure keeps these babies on her feet, without a chance of them falling off in the middle of Target, never to be seen again. We babywear pretty everywhere we go, so the shoes that are on her dangling little feet must, MUST, stay on.

The signature Pediped leather soft-sole tread is perfect as baby girl begins to discover what her feet can really do. They provide protection from the elements but also mimic barefoot walking, when that time comes of course. If she's like her brother, she'll be walking at 9 months...yikes!

Pedipeds are approved by the American Podiatric Medical Association for promoting healthy foot development in babies and children. Pediatricians recommend them too! With that and adorable styles for your kiddos, what more could you ask for? The quality is exceptionally gorgeous and will last well beyond just one pair of baby feet.

As a mom, taking care of my daughter's health is a priority, all the way down to her little feet. With Pediped, I can see the care and attention given to the design, structure, and materials in every style we've owned.

I'm sooooo sad that baby girl will be outgrowing these shoes in the next month or so. The 0-6 months size fits perfectly at the moment, but alas, feet have to grow. Can she just stay little forever? We're approaching the 6-month mark in less than two weeks. I can hardly believe it. At least the need for new cute shoes all the time is a tiny consolation, right?

And yet another adorable style from Pediped for my adorable little girl. If only the weather would stop getting so hot so she could wear these more before her feet grow! Fall is almost here, thank goodness. I'm looking forward to baby leggings, tunics and sweet baby shoes all the time, in the very near future. And everything related to pumpkins and apples, of course.


NEW Styles for Fall/Winter 2015
The Louisa Denim Originals are no longer available for purchase on Pediped's website. However, shop www.pediped.com or use the store locator to find a retailer near you for the latest fall styles like these above!

Pediped® ♥ schools Initiative
Giving back is a core value of Pediped. The Pediped® ♥ schools Initiative is a one-of-a-kind giving campaign where participating schools receive 10% of their total combined purchases of Pediped footwear. Individual schools can earn up to $10,000 per year, and the top fifteen earning schools will also get a bonus up to $1,000. Pediped tracks the purchases registered to each school’s unique code used at checkout to determine the amount of dollars earned.
 
Follow Pediped
Facebook: Facebook.com/pedipedfootwear
Twitter: @pedipedfootwear
Pinterest: Pinterest.com/pediped
Instagram: Instagram.com/pedipedfootwear

 
Enter To Win:
One of my readers will receive a pair of Pediped Originals!   
{Winner may choose boy or girl and size, not style}

Monday, September 14, 2015

It's An Instagram GIVEAWAY :: WIN a $200 Target Gift Card! {Ends 10/5}


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Who doesn't love a good Target run? Seriously, it's dangerous having that place literally down the street from me. Dangerous I tell you. ;) This giveaway is for Instagramers, so set up an account if you don't have one yet. Good luck!

Prize: $200 Target Gift Card

Giveaway organized by: Oh My Gosh Beck!

Rules: Use the Rafflecopter form to enter daily. Giveaway ends 10/5 and is open worldwide. Winner will be notified via email.

Umi Children's Shoes :: Back To School Giveaway Featuring Myself Belts

We're continuing the back to school fun around here! Umi just announced this giveaway that I'm sure you'll all want to enter. Have you heard of Myself Belts? Apparently they struck a deal on Shark Tank! They look pretty awesome!

This giveaway will run from September 14 – 20, and Umi is giving away a $100 Umi gift card and 2 Myself Belts! CLICK HERE to enter for your chance to WIN!

 

Thursday, September 10, 2015

Out With The Old & In With The New :: Savers Donation Drop Spots in Sacramento Will Benefit Epilepsy Foundation Northern California

Summer is nearly over and we're back to the daily homeschool grind with new curricula and a fresh perspective. That also means closets are in desperate need of evaluation as fall fashions hit the stores. Did you do a closet clean-out yet? Ours were definitely overdo for an overhaul considering Buddy grew much taller over the summer and I hadn't seen half my wardrobe in over a year due to pregnancy. The back to school season is the perfect time of year to get organized and start fresh.

This is sponsored post brought to you by Savers Thrift Stores. All opinions are 100% my own. 

Deciding what to do with outgrown clothes is simple. Give them as hand-me-downs, sell them, or forget the hassle and donate! There are many worthwhile organizations that accept donations, but one of my favorite options is Savers thrift stores. They give back and their stores are spacious, clean, organized and challenge typical thrift store stereotypes.

Savers is on a mission to create a better world through reuse by inspiring local communities to donate reusable items to local nonprofits instead of throwing them in the trash. Give your usable items new life!
New Donation Drop Spots
Epilepsy Foundation Northern California (EFNC) has partnered with Savers thrift stores to open three new Donation Drop Spots in the Sacramento area that provide convenient locations for community members to donate their used goods. These new Donation Drop Spots are open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and are located at:

5738 Folsom Blvd, Sacramento, CA 95819
5811 Five Star Blvd, Roseville, CA 95678
1164 Galleria Blvd, Roseville, CA 95678 


Not near these locations? Search for a local Drop Spot here.

Savers pays EFNC when community members donate their goods to Epilepsy Foundation Northern California at these Donation Drop Spots, whether the items make it to the sales floor or not. How neat is that? It's all part of Savers' mission to do good by it's communities and help them fund their amazing programs. Savers is also helping our communities recycle and reuse our unwanted items, all while keeping 650 million pounds of reusable goods out of landfills each year.

Donate Without Dollars 
Donating your used goods is a wonderful way to give back when giving money is not possible. We had a garage sale over the summer which yielded unremarkable sales and a mama that just couldn't bear to throw away the leftover good stuff. Surely someone could use what I could not! Donating those boxes in my garage along with all the extra clothing we recently went through will really help us declutter and give back to local nonprofits as the fall season grows near.

Next time you go secondhand shopping, choose Savers! Their ever-changing shopping selection is amazing, they stand by their communities, it's easier than ever to donate while you're at it. Find a location near you.

 

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

WaterWipes :: My Favorite Baby Wipes for Baby Girl #WaterWipes #IC

I participated in an Ambassador Activation on behalf of Influence Central for WaterWipes. I received product samples to facilitate my review as well as a promotional item to thank me for my participation.

There's something quite awesome about having the opportunity to partner with a brand that you already use, love, and trust. And with that, I'm excited to announce that I'm a WaterWipes Ambassador and that I'll be featuring WaterWipes on my blog over the next few months!

When I was pregnant with baby girl, I did a lot of product research. With six years between my kids, a lot had changed so it felt like I was literally starting over. One day while shopping online I stumbled upon WaterWipes and decided to order a pack to test them out. I'm SO glad I did, and the rest is history! We've been using WaterWipes almost exclusively since baby girl was born, and they are by far my favorite baby wipes.

 
WaterWipes, a premium European brand, are a chemical free baby wipe made of just two ingredients: 99.9% purified Irish water and 0.1% grapefruit seed extract. It's no surprise that WaterWipes are called "the world's purest baby wipes." Since they don't contain any preservatives, they actually have an expiration date. A package will keep for up to 15 months before opening, and it's recommended that a pack of WaterWipes is used within 1 month after opening. With daily diaper changes, using a pack within a month is no problem at all.

WaterWipes are super soft, gentle, non-greasy, can take on the worst blow outs imaginable and are practically impossible to tear. Unlike other baby wipes, WaterWipes are not interfolded to help maintain a sterile environment within the package. For this same reason, it's not recommended that you relocate wipes to another container either. I do find this a little inconvenient at times, but the reasons are valid and I'd much rather have safe baby wipes for my daughter.

You know what I find interesting? With Buddy we used some "natural" baby wipes that were full of chemicals (hindsight is always 20/20, right?), and we struggled with diaper rashes that only resolved with harsh diaper creams. Baby girl has some GI issues and at the very least, a dairy allergy. Despite this, her bottom has been rash-free for the majority of her little life. If there's ever irritation, it's from a dirty diaper and it's clear by the next diaper change. If anything, I would expect my baby with allergies and sensitivities to have major diaper rashes!

Many babies struggle continuously with constant diaper rashes. But how many of those are caused by daily exposure to chemicals in baby wipes? Regardless, for babies with diaper rash, sensitive skin and/or eczema, WaterWipes is recognized by the National Eczema Association as being the only baby wipe with absolutely no chemicals, receiving a 4 out of 5 Seal of Acceptance Rating. I'm so grateful I found WaterWipes this time around. With baby girl's health issues, I can at least breathe a sigh of relief knowing I'm not exposing her to unnecessary chemicals through her baby wipes. 

As moms, it's our duty to protect our children. From danger, from hurt, from anything even potentially harmful if we can. Using WaterWipes gives me one more way I can protect my children. Those harmful chemicals in other baby wipes are just simply unnecessary. How do I know? Because WaterWipes has obviously figured out a way to not need any of those chemicals. And I'm proud to be a WaterWipes Ambassador to shout it out and make it known - harsh, harmful chemicals in baby wipes are just not okay!

 
As a WaterWipes mom, I'm chemically-conscious about the products I use on my children. They're only little for so long, and we only get one shot to get this mommy thing right. My daughter's health and safety are (of course) very important to me. With WaterWipes, I feel safe knowing I'm using the world's purest baby wipes on her delicate skin.

In reality, these aren't just my favorite chemical free baby wipes. They're really the only chemical free baby wipes that I've found. I love the pure ingredients, the softness, and I highly, highly recommend WaterWipes to moms. For more information, visit the WaterWipes homepage today.

Have you checked the ingredients label on your baby wipes lately?
 
 

Monday, September 7, 2015

Ways to Clean Your Boat: How to Do It Quickly And Effectively

Disclosure: The following is a guest post submitted by Mobox Marine.
 

A boat is a great asset and a source of joy and pride for many across the world. Not only does it serve recreational purposes, like sports fishing, and boating but for many people, serves as their only means of income. 

Before You Start Cleaning
Before you start the long and exhausting process of cleaning, make sure you have the right equipment for the job. You have to consider what type of boat you have and its composition and get the appropriate equipment. When it comes to cleaning brushes, it is wise to get those that are highly durable, being able to tolerate repeated use, long sun exposure, the chemicals from the cleaning agents and attack from the elements.

The brush should not too rough. One with medium soft bristles is ideal and can rid of the unwanted dirt without damaging the finish or the gel coat of the boat. Having a long handle on the brushes is also a big plus, allowing you to reach those hard to reach areas without the need of bending or stretching yourself, reducing the risk of getting your clothes dirty ,as well as providing more leverage and reducing the strain on your arms and back. It also helps to have a spare bucket, washing pads, a mop, some sponges and towels on hand and always store them in the same compartment for future convenience. 


Friday, September 4, 2015

Kick Off Back To School Season with Chipotle's Grow Book + Catering {Giveaway - Ends 9/20}

With school back is session, the days are long but filled with wholesome learning. My son's education is of the utmost importance to me, and so I do my best to provide him with a wide range of educational opportunities. One area I try to encourage Buddy to learn more about is how to lead a healthy lifestyle through eating real food and knowing where it comes from. We've been to farmer's markets, to farms and through the isles of grocery stores - all places we stop and talk about the food we see. Besides hands-on experience with making good food choices everyday, how else can we drive this message home?

This sponsored post is brought to you by Chipotle. All opinions are 100% my own. 

We have a lot of activity workbooks around here, but none quite like the Grow Book from Chipotle. Buddy enjoys them so I figured we'd give this one a shot. Despite my general disdain for workbooks (they're typically just full of nonsensical busy work), I'm pleasantly surprised with the beautiful content inside the Grow Book that lends itself to be more of an educational activity book. No matter where your kid is on the spectrum of understanding where their food comes from, he will certainly walk away knowing it doesn't just come from the grocery store.

Join "Steve the Seed" as he journeys through every aspect of growing food. From how and where food grows, to how food helps you grow and everything between. This activity book features a Chipotle-esque style similar to the Cultivating Thought artwork found on the bags and cups in Chipotle restaurants. There's also a page of stickers, a recipe for guacamole and a packet of tomato seeds included with the book.

The Grow Book contains a lot of wonderful information. Kids will learn how plants start as seeds and use soil, water and the sun to grow. They will learn the parts of a plant and how fruits and vegetables contain vitamins and nutrients for their bodies. Colorful images throughout really enhance the impact of this activity book. The journey of produce from farm to farmer's market to the dinner table is discussed too. What I like about the Grow Book is that it gets kids thinking about their food in a realistic, deeper way.

Black and white dress most of each page, leaving coloring opportunities everywhere. While each page is loaded with quick facts and straightforward information all about growing, there's plenty of interactive fun too. Kids will find riddles, a word search, maze, and find-the-difference (Buddy's favorite) and color-the-hidden-message activities. The last couple pages have additional activity suggestions like counting the fruits and vegetables in your fridge and making a compost bin.

Buddy is now 6 1/2 and in first grade. WHERE HAS THE TIME GONE?! He's an amazing reader and far too smart for his own good. The activities in the Grow Book are on point for his age and introduced him to a lot of information and facts about growing and farming that he found interesting. I would say kids age 5-10 would be most interested in the Grow Book, although I've enjoyed flipping through it's unique content several times myself. I love the style and color throughout. This is definitely not your average activity book, but something much better, as I would expect from Chipotle!
 
Catering By Chipotle

A new school year is exciting and deserves it's own par-tay! Throw a back to school party with delicious, GMO-free Mexican cuisine. Chipotle offers create-your-own taco or burrito bowl catering spreads for as little as 20 people and up to 200. Burritos by the box and chips and salsa spreads are also available. Catering orders can be ordered in as little as 24 hours in advance. Check out Chipotle.com/catering to find a Chipotle near you that offers catering for your next event. 

Enter To Win:
One of my readers will receive the Chipotle Grow Book AND Chipotle catering for 20 people (a $304 value)!