Homemade Beauty Products: Part III

Part III: create a "Dewy Glow"

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp. raw honey
• 1 tsp. aloe vera juice

Directions:

• Combine ingredients and stir until blended
• it says to use a clean makeup brush (I would use an old one) to paint the mixture on
• leave on for 15 minutes, then rinse  

I unfortunately didn't try this one today because I forgot to pick up aloe vera juice at the store and I didn't want to take another vehicle trip.  BUT, it sounds very soothing and I can't wait to try it soon! Thanks to Self Magazine's May Issue for the great beauty product recipes!

Enjoy!

~Mommy Bridget

Homemade Beauty Products: Part II

Part II: Body Scrub

I was especially excited about trying out this part of the homemade beauty products as I love to have my skin feeling soft and smooth.  I used to buy over the counter body scrubs religiously but since becoming a mother, sort of forgot about this part of my beauty routine.  Anyways, below is how it's done!

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup fine sea salt 
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil (I used apricot oil)
• 2 rosemary sprigs

Directions:

• chop rosemary leaves, then stir rest of ingredients together  
• massage the mixture into your skin using circular motions starting from your feet moving upward towards your heart
• rinse

The sea salt is an excellent way to exfoliate your skin while the oil moisturizes. The rosemary is a natural anti-inflammatory therefore soothing your skin after scrubbing with the sea salt.

You will have a ton left over, so put the extras into a safe container and store it near your shower for other uses.  Also, a strong advisory note...be sure to clean your tub after you use the mixture as the oil will make it slippery!!!  We would hate to see anyone slip in the tub!

Enjoy!

~Mommy Bridget

Cancer Prevention Tips | Environmental Working Group

Cancer Prevention Tips | Environmental Working Group

Homemade Beauty Products

Part I: Face Scrub

I came across an article in Self's May 2010 issue about make it yourself beauty products and so I thought I would try the recipes out and report back to you.  I love simple products that can be made from home, are better for you than most otc beauty products, and cost significantly less.

So here it is: 

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp citrus juice (grapefruit, orange, or lemon) (I used half orange and half grapefruit)
• 1 tbsp baking soda

Directions:

•  The article said to stir the ingredients until the bubbling dies down, apply the mask, leave it on for 20 minutes, then rinse it off. 

 
According to Jeannette Graf, M.D., assistant clinical professor of dermatology at Mount Sinai Hospital in NYC, citrus fruits are "composed of alpha hydroxy acids that exfoliate and brighten skin and help keep pores clean" while the baking soda gently sloughs off your dead skin cells. 

Baking soda is awesome  Coincidentally, the same day I began writing this post a good friend of mine sent me a link listing 40 other great ways to use baking soda.  You can see that link here.

The combination of the two are a perfect way to naturally remove dead skin and encourage healthy new skin cells to form.  After testing it I agree!  The mask will tingle a bit but that's normal.  What a great way to begin with clearer skin, to rejuvenate your body...and soul!  Stay tuned for Part II: Smoothing Your Skin

Enjoy,

Curious Mommy

Reminder: One Day Left to Enter NRG's Lawn and Garden Eco-kit

Friday, June 11, 2010

NRG Lawn and Garden Eco-kit Giveaway-ends 6/25!!!

Water bill starting to creep up on you?  Notice your hose leaking while running your sprinklers or watering your garden?  New Resources Group has just the thing for you..and they are giving it away FREE to one lucky winner!

NRG is giving away their Lawn and Garden Eco-kit, free to one lucky winner on The Curious Case of Mommyhood.  The Eco-kit includes:

• one garden hose nozzle with dial
• one rain gauge
• one roll of teflon taper
• one lawn sprinkler ruler
• replacement washers for your hose/water spout
• one hose repair kit

The complete Outdoor Lawn & Garden ECO-KIT. Save water outdoors with this useful kit of conservation tools. Includes a high quality hose nozzle, hose leak repair parts, hose washers, lawn water ruler, thread sealing tape and a handy sprinkler gauge. Individual descriptions: 1 1/2" Rain/sprinkler gauge, yellow base stake with easy to read numbers. Gauge measures rainfall and other precipitation events. SPRINKLER GAUGE is a simple and important step in conservation. Gauge is high quality molded plastic with molded stake that helps in closely managing lawn and garden watering. Lawn Watering Ruler: Sprinkler gauge water ruler with printed instructions. An easy and accurate way to monitor lawn and garden watering. HOSE NOZZLE with ergonomic grip lets you choose from 9 settings: shower, mist, jet, full, center, flat, vertical, soaker or cone spray. Heavy duty plastic, high quality, light and easy to use. Our most popular hose nozzle. REPLACEMENT HOSE WASHERS for all standard hoses, hose nozzles and hose end sprinklers. Sheet of 12 washers. HOSE LEAK REPAIR PARTS help to quickly and easily repair defective ends or leaky portions of a garden hose. THREAD SEALING TAPE stops any leaking due to uneven or damaged threads. Save water and save money with this durable conservation aid. A complete earth friendly water conservation kit for the outdoors: 8 piece lawn and garden kit. Comes complete with instructions.

And that's not all!  Knowing the importance of safety for our children, NRG is also throwing in a package of 100 safety outlet caps as a bonus prize!

To purchase energy saving products from New Resources Group, click here.

To enter to win the Lawn and Garden Eco-kit and package of 100 electrical outlets covers:

***REMEMBER: POST A COMMENT FOR EACH ENTRY***

***Also, remember to leave your email address with your comments so you can be reached***

  
MANDATORY: 

• visit NRG's web site and tell me the name of another product you wish to have
• Subscribe to my blog (if you haven't already done so) (if you wish to not receive emails, you can opt out of the emails at any time and still be a subscriber)
• click here to post comment at bottom of giveaway

The above details are necessary for your entry into the drawing to be accepted.  You also have the opportunity to have multiple entries if you do any of the following:

• retweet this giveaway and send me the link to your tweet by comment (worth 2 extra entries) (don't forget to tell me so by comment:)
• repost this giveaway on your facebook personal page (worth 2 extra entries)
• join my Facebook fan page (worth 2 extra entries) again, tell me so by comment
• join my Twitter fan page (worth 2 extra entries)
• repost this giveaway on your facebook fan page (worth 3 extra entries)
• follow NRG on facebook (worth 2 extra entries)
• follow NRG on Twitter (worth 2 extra entries)
• click here to post at bottom of giveaway

This drawing ends June 25th at midnight.  The winner will be notified June 26th by email so please don't forget your email address!!!


Good luck!
~Mommy Bridget

Fun with Wrap

As a friend of mine's baby shower was approaching last week, I realized I needed to wrap her gift to make it presentable.  But after looking at my home supply of gift wrapping paper, I realized the only thing available off hand had either cars on it or Micky Mouse Christmas.  This just wouldn't do for a baby shower gift.  I contemplated the trip to the store to buy some wrapping paper...

I really dislike wrapping paper with all the unnecessary paper that's only seen for a few minutes then crumpled up and thrown into the garbage.  I know that you can recycle the paper here, but still.  What a waste!  I usually buy the decorative bags then reuse them over and over again until they've had enough.  But since I had a large item to wrap, I doubt there are present bags big enough.  How about just a bow?  Hmmm...maybe so.  How about making something from what we have at home?  Yes!!!  So I thought...what could I use at home to personalize it while at the same time make a fun activity for my little man?  All we needed was:

• newspaper (preferably without any negative news)
• tape
• children's paint
• stickers (if you want)
• a bow
• a child who loves to paint! 

Park had such a great time decorating the present.  What a fun activity for our little ones who love to explore the world of art.  All the while recycling paper instead of consuming it and saving a little money and a trip to the store...gotta love moments like these!

 
 ~Curious Mommy

Nifty Nappy Review and Giveaway

June 18th, 2010

Nifty Nappy Review and Giveaway

Over the past few weeks I've had the opportunity to review my first cloth diapering system on The Curious Case of Mommyhood.  I came across Nifty Nappy awhile back and what caught my attention was their super cute and totally original fabric patterns.  I couldn't wait to try one of their diapers on Park!  When I got my package in the mail, I was so surprised at how soft the fabric was.  I quickly pre-washed everything so I could begin my review...

I was lucky enough to review Nifty Nappy's diaper, the Snappy Swimeaze, and the Woolie Wrap.

The Nifty Nappy Diaper:

Body:

Outer Layer: Cotton Knit

Sandwich Layer: Organic Hemp Knit

Inside Layer: Microfleece

Lay-in Insert:

Organic Hemp/Cotton Fleece

Organic Hemp Cotton Velour

The Nifty Nappy Diaper must be prewashed 4-5 times before it is used to ensure the manufacturer's oils are washed out and proper absorbency.  Wash the diaper in hot water with the proper cloth diapering soap and a few drops of tea tree oil to kill bacteria and preferably hang dry outside to bleach out any stains.  


The Nifty Nappy diaper has adjustable snaps to size specific to your baby.  This diaper is worn with inserts and is meant to be worn with a cover.  I suggest Nifty Nappy's Woolie Wrap.

The Nifty Nappy diaper and the Woolie Wrap work so well together.  We love this diapering system!  We love how snug it fits so you don't get the cloth diaper bulge.  We love how absorbent it is...and especially love how soft the fabric is.  (Love, love, love...:)  These are definitely a must have item for your cloth diapering system!

Nifty Nappy's Woolie Wrap:

Body:
The outside layer of the Woolie Wrap is made from upcycled wool sweaters she finds at thrift stores (how great!).


Inside:
Inside layer is made from 100% wool interlock 


The Woolie Wrap comes prelanolized so it's ready for use the minute you get it!  You will want to purchase lanolin to care for the Woolie Wrap.  They can always be hand washed and hung to dry.  It should only need to be washed and lanolized once a month unless they get soiled with baby poo, food, etc.  In that case, they need to be washed and relanolized.  Apparently, the lanolin in the Woolie Wrap turns urine into salt water.  You only need to hang dry them if they should get wet.

 

Nifty Nappy's Snappy Swimease:

Body:
PUL waterproof layer between an inner layer of microfleece and an outer layer of cotton knit


The Snappy Swimease does not need any inserts or other layers.  The PUL layer inside should keep your little one wet free on the way to the pool.  I can attest to this first hand as in just the 5 minutes Park was wearing this diaper long enough for me to take some shots for the review, he went "number 1" AND "number 2" (always my luck;) and the diaper held everything in it as I took it off and dumped the contents into the toilet.  Very impressive!!!


The Snappy Swimease is again light, very form fitting, and also made with soft materials.  I love it so much more than his disposable swim diapers for so many reasons!  In the past, Park has always complained when we put on a disposable swim diaper.  I don't think he ever felt comfortable in them...he was always trying to take it off.  With the Snappy Swimease, he didn't make any opposition to it.  And best of all, when we are finished using it we can throw it into the washing machine INSTEAD of the diaper pail!  We have a swim diaper for life!!! 



To wash after use, you'll want to be sure you are using proper cloth diaper laundry soap, wash on hot and add a few drops of tea tree oil to help kill any bacteria.  Super easy!

WHERE TO BUY:  
Woolie Wraps ($25), cloth diapers ($22) and the Snappy Swimeaze ($15) can be purchased directly from Nifty Nappy along with all her other beautiful diapers OR visit one of her Retailers.


WIN IT!!!:
One lucky winner will win a $35 gift certificate to Nifty Nappy!  

TO ENTER:

***REMEMBER: POST A COMMENT FOR EACH ENTRY***

***Also, remember to leave your email address with your comments so you can be reached*** 

Subscribe to my blog (located on the left side of my home page) and tell me your favorite fabric/pattern from Nifty Nappy.  This is MANDATORY to enter the giveaway.  

You also have the opportunity for additional entries (one each) if you do any of the following:

• follow The Curious Case of Mommyhood on Google Follower
• follow The Curious Case of Mommyhood on Twitter
• retweet this giveaway and add the link to your post
• follow/like The Curious Case of Mommyhood on Facebook
• repost this giveaway on your personal fb page
• Subscribe to Nifty Nappy's newsletter
• follow Nifty Nappy on Twitter
• follow Nifty Nappy on Facebook 
• follow Nifty Nappy's Blog
• grab Nifty Nappy's button 
• grab Nifty Nappy's web page button 

This giveaway ends Tuesday, July 6th at midnight.


Good luck to you all!!!


~Mommy Bridget

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all of the wonderful Dad's out there that make our lives so rich.  A special happy father's day to my husband, the most wonderful father any little boy could ask for!

~Mommy Bridget

RaisingMy4Sons: Potty Training Tips...

RaisingMy4Sons: Potty Training Tips...

As Park is beginning to show interest in the "potty", I've realized I have no idea what I'm doing with regards to potty training! I take advice here and there but to be honest, with Park barely being 2 I've decided for now to let Park be the one to make the decision on whether or not he wants to use the big boy toilet. Luckily, I was so excited to see one of my favorite blogs write about potty training tips that I knew I had to re-post this for all of you who may be in the depths of potty training too.

Enjoy!

~Curious Mommy

Low Entries for Lawn and Garden Eco-kit

Just wanted to remind everyone about my current giveaway.  You can win a Lawn and Garden Eco-kit from New Resources Group!  If you are interested in water conservation products, you'll love this!  Below are details:

Basic Outdoor Lawn & Garden Eco-Kit 

The complete Outdoor Lawn & Garden ECO-KIT. Save water outdoors with this useful kit of conservation tools. Includes a high quality hose nozzle, hose leak repair parts, hose washers, lawn water ruler, thread sealing tape and a handy sprinkler gauge. Individual descriptions: 1 1/2" Rain/sprinkler gauge, yellow base stake with easy to read numbers. Gauge measures rainfall and other precipitation events. SPRINKLER GAUGE is a simple and important step in conservation. Gauge is high quality molded plastic with molded stake that helps in closely managing lawn and garden watering. Lawn Watering Ruler: Sprinkler gauge water ruler with printed instructions. An easy and accurate way to monitor lawn and garden watering. HOSE NOZZLE with ergonomic grip lets you choose from 9 settings: shower, mist, jet, full, center, flat, vertical, soaker or cone spray. Heavy duty plastic, high quality, light and easy to use. Our most popular hose nozzle. REPLACEMENT HOSE WASHERS for all standard hoses, hose nozzles and hose end sprinklers. Sheet of 12 washers. HOSE LEAK REPAIR PARTS help to quickly and easily repair defective ends or leaky portions of a garden hose. THREAD SEALING TAPE stops any leaking due to uneven or damaged threads. Save water and save money with this durable conservation aid. A complete earth friendly water conservation kit for the outdoors: 8 piece lawn and garden kit. Comes complete with instructions.

So for all of you gardeners out there, this giveaway is for you! There are few entries so far so your chances of winning are great!  Click here to enter.

Good luck!
~Mommy Bridget

He Did It! Park Turned 2!!!

May 31st marked another big milestone for all of us...Park turned 2 years old. With a big outdoor party planned at a nearby park, we were prepared to share this big day with those close to us with lots of food, drinks and good company. Unfortunately, the weather took a turn that week and we had to cancel our big birthday plans.

Luckily, Park is still young enough not to understand or be disappointed in the change of plans. We were lucky enough to still have our family members over to our house for the morning. Park had so much fun with all of his cousins running around, playing with his new toys and old. Although our plans for his big day drastically changed, we were very satisfied with our outcome. Park had a wonderful time.

 

  
Happy Birthday to my beautiful baby boy! We love you so much Park Ryder and are so proud of you!

Mommy and Daddy

New Resources Group Water Conservation Products Review

NRG’s Water Conservation Products Review

With summer time in full swing, water demands around the country are increasing.  Perfect timing for my new review!   I had the opportunity to review some of New Resources Group’s water conservation products.  With so many products to choose from, NRG has products and tips for water conservation inside and outside your home.  Below are the products we reviewed and our experiences with them:

Shower Timer - The Original "Shorter Shower" Sand Timer

Buy it: As low as: $2.50
Shorter Shower sand timer helps you beat the clock and save! Simply turn the timer on its suction cup backing to know when five minutes are up. Save water and save money with this handy and durable conservation device. Perfect for getting into the habit of a quicker and more efficient shower. Blue housing standard with sand timer and shatter-proof plastic cover.

Easy to install, the shower timer is a great reminder to only use the water necessary to shower.  Absolutely every time I go to turn on the shower, I see the timer and am reminded not to let the water go unused but to hop right in as soon as the temperature is the way I want it.  This product is very inexpensive too!

Chrome Spray Clean high performance water saving Shower Head

Buy it: As low as: $4.98
Spray Clean fixed spray shower head in a chrome finish. Self cleaning and maintenance-free. Pass hand across thermo-plastic rubber jets to clean shower head as needed. The Spray Clean is engineered to deliver a great slower with surprisingly little water. Attractive chrome-plated finish fits in any décor. Non-removable Neoperl pressure compensating flow controller produces steady low flow rate no matter what the water pressure. Easy to clean thermo-plastic jets are perfect for areas with hard water. Easy to install – no tools required, simply hand-tighten on a standard ½” shower arm.

Choose from 1.5, 1.75, 2.0 & 2.5 gpm shower heads.

This product is great because you won’t even notice that you are using less water in the shower when in fact, you are using significantly less.  And it looks great too!

6 Position Metal Hose Nozzle, self closing for home & garden

Buy it: As low as: $4.58

Red metal hose nozzle with ergonomic grip. Choose from shower, jet, mist, soaker, cone or flat spray settings.

Heavy duty, high quality with an extra durable cast metal handle. Easy to attach.

This hose nozzle has been absolutely wonderful for watering my new garden and very durable.  I turn the nozzle to shower when I water the entire garden at once, I turn it to mist when my plants need a pick me up during very hot hours of the day, and turn it to soak for my tomato plants in the containers.  My son really enjoys helping me too!  And as we all understand how much fun it is for children to play with the hose, I can relax knowing that we are wasting less water while he plays because of our water saving hose nozzle.

Moisture Sensor - Lawn & garden soil

Buy it: As low as: $2.98
Moisture Sensor lets you know the humidity of your soil. The easy to read graduated dial indicates if the soil is dry, moist or wet so that a lawn or garden can be watered accordingly. Save water and save money with this durable conservation aid.

Head / dial constructed of sturdy molded plastic. 8 inch metal stem for penetrating to root level. No batteries or electricity required. Instructions and watering tips printed on back of overleaf.

This is an absolute must for all you gardeners out there…especially to those of you who, like me, are “new” at gardening.  The moisture sensor lets me know when my plants need water, when they have just enough water, and when they have been watered too much.  In my case, most of the time it reads “dry”.  It can also be used for your lawn.  Very cool product!

Basic Outdoor Lawn & Garden Eco-Kit

Buy it: As low as: $6.99

The complete Outdoor Lawn & Garden ECO-KIT. Save water outdoors with this useful kit of conservation tools. Includes a high quality hose nozzle, hose leak repair parts, hose washers, lawn water ruler, thread sealing tape and a handy sprinkler gauge.

Individual descriptions: 1 1/2" Rain/sprinkler gauge, yellow base stake with easy to read numbers. Gauge measures rainfall and other precipitation events. SPRINKLER GAUGE is a simple and important step in conservation. Gauge is high quality molded plastic with molded stake that helps in closely managing lawn and garden watering. Lawn Watering Ruler: Sprinkler gauge water ruler with printed instructions. An easy and accurate way to monitor lawn and garden watering. HOSE NOZZLE with ergonomic grip lets you choose from 9 settings: shower, mist, jet, full, center, flat, vertical, soaker or cone spray. Heavy duty plastic, high quality, light and easy to use. Our most popular hose nozzle. REPLACEMENT HOSE WASHERS for all standard hoses, hose nozzles and hose end sprinklers. Sheet of 12 washers. HOSE LEAK REPAIR PARTS help to quickly and easily repair defective ends or leaky portions of a garden hose. THREAD SEALING TAPE stops any leaking due to uneven or damaged threads. Save water and save money with this durable conservation aid. A complete earth friendly water conservation kit for the outdoors: 8 piece lawn and garden kit. Comes complete with instructions.

This is the wonderful gift NRG is giving away on my blog.  It has everything you need for ensuring you are not wasting water while using your hose.  We REALLY needed this as our spout/hose connection has been dripping terribly ever since we moved into our new home.  (Thankfully we rarely needed to use it until this summer).  I used NRG’s drip gauge to measure how much water is wasted while the hose is connected to the spout and turned on.  According to the gauge, we would be wasting up to 54,000 gpy of water (if our spout/hose was turned on).  That’s a lot of precious water being wasted!  The hose repair parts are great!  It also has a sprinkler gauge so we know how much water our lawn is getting and it lets us know when to turn the sprinklers off.  Also, included in the kit was another great hoze nozzle with 9 settings to choose from!

Drip Gauge Water Measuring Vial 

Buy it: As low as: $0.35
 

Drip gauge water measuring vial helps build awareness of what tiny leaks really cost. Simply collect water for 15 seconds in the plastic vial to see what's being lost per day or per year!

Save water and save money with this handy conservation tool.

5" Rain Gauge

Buy it: As low as: $2.19
5" Conventional rain gauge. High quality molded plastic. 

Gauge measures rainfall and other precipitation events, such as heavy dew and mist - indicating how much watering you need to do to make up the difference. Avoid unnecessary sprinkler use, save water and save money. A simple and important step in conservation.

We use this next to our garden so we can measure how much rainfall and sprinkler water our garden is receiving.  It’s nice to keep track of our outdoor water usage.

I want to thank New Resources Group for supplying all of these products for review.  I strongly encourage you to use products to promote water conservation in and around your home.   Remember: water is a commodity and so not to be taken advantage of.

Bridget James

(author of) The Curious Case of Mommyhood

Local Harvest

Interested in buying a share of farm crops for a season?  Do you enjoy fresh, clean, healthy products made locally?  I know I do!  Chances are, you can find what you are looking for from anywhere in the US.

Go to http://localharvest.org and see what's available in your neck of the woods. I was surprised to find so many more community markets, farms, and organizations I wasn't even aware about right near my home!

Enjoy:)

~Mommy Bridget

Rainy Day Fever

I'm not complaining, I am so thankful for any rain we get out here in the west.  Every year, the mountain snow pack numbers let us know what kind of year we are going to have because our summers are long, hot, and dry.  Any extra rain during our summers is a pure blessing! 

So the last 2 (going on 3) days have been just that, rain.  We decided to stay indoors and make the best of our situation without wasting gas traveling for some entertainment.  But day 2 (yesterday) was LONG!  The longest day I've had in a really long time (and I'm sure if my toddler could talk would agree).  What a trooper my little man was!  We baked, cleaned (a lot), napped, went for a walk in the rain, watched a really cheesy early 1990's movie about cars, planes, and trucks (Park's favorite), made popcorn, wrestled, played with play doh...the list goes on.  Oh, and I attempted to salvage what I have left of my blog's appearance whenever I had the chance.  All day I felt like I was out of ideas for entertaining Park.  Speaking of, more ideas for entertaining toddlers indoors would be great!  I have friends with toddlers that rarely leave their house and their kids seem fully entertained.  Why am I having such a difficult time thinking up things to do with Park?  Oh wait, I know why...because I have way too much energy to stay indoors!  Oh, and my son clearly takes after me:)

Gotta love the inherited behaviors;)

Actually, despite that you all may be thinking I was bored out of my mind yesterday (which I thought I was)...I realized after putting Park to bed that my son and I had a really beautiful day together.  Our constant interaction, playing together, being bored together was so beneficial for the both of us that my son who has had difficulty developing language skills began speaking more clearly.  What I mean is his "babble" began to turn into words I could understand.  What a big accomplishment for us!  He still needs a lot of work with his language but I'm now hopeful that there is nothing "wrong" and that all he really needed was some rainy days at home with his Mommy.

By the way, he asks A LOT of questions!


Hope you have a beautiful Sunday,


~Curious Mommy

NRG Lawn and Garden Eco-kit Giveaway-ends 6/25!!!

Water bill starting to creep up on you?  Notice your hose leaking while running your sprinklers or watering your garden?  New Resources Group has just the thing for you..and they are giving it away FREE to one lucky winner!

NRG is giving away their Lawn and Garden Eco-kit, free to one lucky winner on The Curious Case of Mommyhood.  The Eco-kit includes:

• one garden hose nozzle with dial
• one rain gauge
• one roll of teflon taper
• one lawn sprinkler ruler
• replacement washers for your hose/water spout
• one hose repair kit

The complete Outdoor Lawn & Garden ECO-KIT. Save water outdoors with this useful kit of conservation tools. Includes a high quality hose nozzle, hose leak repair parts, hose washers, lawn water ruler, thread sealing tape and a handy sprinkler gauge. Individual descriptions: 1 1/2" Rain/sprinkler gauge, yellow base stake with easy to read numbers. Gauge measures rainfall and other precipitation events. SPRINKLER GAUGE is a simple and important step in conservation. Gauge is high quality molded plastic with molded stake that helps in closely managing lawn and garden watering. Lawn Watering Ruler: Sprinkler gauge water ruler with printed instructions. An easy and accurate way to monitor lawn and garden watering. HOSE NOZZLE with ergonomic grip lets you choose from 9 settings: shower, mist, jet, full, center, flat, vertical, soaker or cone spray. Heavy duty plastic, high quality, light and easy to use. Our most popular hose nozzle. REPLACEMENT HOSE WASHERS for all standard hoses, hose nozzles and hose end sprinklers. Sheet of 12 washers. HOSE LEAK REPAIR PARTS help to quickly and easily repair defective ends or leaky portions of a garden hose. THREAD SEALING TAPE stops any leaking due to uneven or damaged threads. Save water and save money with this durable conservation aid. A complete earth friendly water conservation kit for the outdoors: 8 piece lawn and garden kit. Comes complete with instructions.

And that's not all!  Knowing the importance of safety for our children, NRG is also throwing in a package of 100 safety outlet caps as a bonus prize!

To purchase energy saving products from New Resources Group, click here.

To enter to win the Lawn and Garden Eco-kit and package of 100 electrical outlets covers:

 

***REMEMBER: POST A COMMENT FOR EACH ENTRY***

***Also, remember to leave your email address with your comments so you can be reached***

  
MANDATORY: 

• visit NRG's web site and tell me the name of another product you wish to have
• Subscribe to my blog (if you haven't already done so) (if you wish to not receive emails, you can opt out of the emails at any time and still be a subscriber)

The above details are necessary for your entry into the drawing to be accepted.  You also have the opportunity to have multiple entries if you do any of the following:

• retweet this giveaway and send me the link to your tweet by comment (worth 2 extra entries) (don't forget to tell me so by comment:)
• repost this giveaway on your facebook personal page (worth 2 extra entries)
• join my Facebook fan page (worth 2 extra entries) again, tell me so by comment
• join my Twitter fan page (worth 2 extra entries)
• repost this giveaway on your facebook fan page (worth 3 extra entries)
• follow NRG on facebook (worth 2 extra entries)
• follow NRG on Twitter (worth 2 extra entries)

This drawing ends June 25th at midnight.  The winner will be notified June 26th by email so please don't forget your email address!!!


Good luck!
~Mommy Bridget

The New Look of Huggies

This is super funny!

click here for the 30 second video...

Thanks to my brother Eric for sharing:)

Join us today : Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families Campaign

Join us today : Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families Campaign

Join the movement for a safer environment for our children!  It only takes a few seconds to fill out but could impact the earth and its inhabitants for generations to come...

~Mommy Bridget

Pesticides and Your Thyroid Gland

It looks as though they found another way pesticides can harm your body.  Researchers from Nebraska Medical Center found that women exposed to certain pesticides had a 40% increased chance of developing a condition called hyperthyroidism.  One way of treating hyperthyroidism is to remove part of the thyroid, which in turn would make the individual rely on a lifetime of medications to control hormone levels in the body.

Just another GREAT reason to eat organic!  As a reminder, click here for a list of the top 12 foods your should most definitely eat organic and a list of produce that are safe conventionally.

Happy organic eating!

Mommy Bridget

Garden Surprise

A few Sundays ago, I finally began transplanting the plants I grew from itty bitty seedlings into our new raised garden bed.  I was so excited that we had made it that far, we had some durable plants to continue growing, and we were on our way to more sustainable living at the James's family household.

HOWEVER, just as quickly as I put everything into my garden on a warm Sunday, Utah's weather took a bit of a turn the next morning...

This was a BIG surprise!  Not even the weather man predicted this one.

So, in turn a few of my plants didn't survive the storm.  I lost a few cucumber plants but that was it.  I covered everything with sheets and the tomato plant's cages made sort of a tipi structure which kept the snow off everything.  We were lucky that the snow melted by the afternoon...and Home Depot was SUPER lucky since everybody was running back to purchase replacements!

Gotta love mother nature:)  All is well now in garden land...

~Curious Mommy

Earthbath Giveaway Ending 6/6 at midnight!

Just a few more days to enter for the Earthbath giveaway.  To all of you animal lovers out there, don't miss it!

 

I don't know about your pets but our furry friends are very much a part of our family as we are and in being one of our "children", we like our kids to look and feel their best!  My two furry children had the wonderful opportunity to review a product called Earthbath, a line of products for dogs, cats, and horses that cleanses their fur and leaves them feeling and smelling their furry best!  And the best part of using these products on our doggies is that Earthbath's products are made from all natural ingredients, are totally non-toxic, paraben free, phtalate free, and phosphate free. 

Only the best for our children!

Our dogs had the opportunity to review the "oatmeal and aloe" shampoo from Earthbath.  This particular kind of shampoo was so fitting for our arid environment as their skin and coats tend to be dry.  I remember a few hours after I bathed my little Latti, I was petting her and commenting to my husband how amazing her fur felt.  I remember saying, "Latti's fur feels really soft honey...no really, it feels REALLY good!"  We were so impressed by it.  And it feels really good knowing that the products I'm using on them is as safe for them to use as it is for us!  The ingredients in this particular shampoo include:

Purified water, renewable coconut-based cleansers, colloidal oatmeal (3%), aloe vera, almond and vanilla essences, olive oil squalene (natural preservative) 

Pretty great huh.

We are so pleased with this product for our dogs that we can't imagine using anything else ever again. 

Earthbath carries a variety of products for your furry pet's grooming needs including shampoos, spritzes, wipes, and "rub on towel off" foams.  There is so much to choose from!

That's not all, Earthbath is sponsoring a giveaway on The Curious Case of Mommyhood!  One lucky winner will get to choose any product of their choice.  Whether you are a cat, dog, or horse lover...there is something for everyone!

To enter:

***REMEMBER: POST A COMMENT FOR EACH ENTRY***

***Also, remember to leave your email address with your comments so you can be reached***

  
MANDATORY: 

• visit Earthbath's web site and tell me the name of the product you want to win
• Subscribe to my blog (if you haven't already done so) (if you wish to not receive emails, you can opt out of the emails at any time and still be a subscriber) 
• click here to comment your entry at the bottom of this post

The above details are necessary for your entry into the drawing to be accepted.  You also have the opportunity to have multiple entries if you do any or all of the following:

• retweet this giveaway and send me the link to your tweet by comment (worth 2 extra entries) (don't forget to tell me so by comment:)
• repost this giveaway on your facebook personal page (worth 2 extra entries)
• join my Facebook fan page (worth 2 extra entries) again, tell me so by comment
• join my Twitter fan page (worth 2 extra entries)
• repost this giveaway on your facebook fan page (worth 2 extra entries)
• follow Earthbath's facebook fan page (worth 2 extra entries)
• follow Earth bath on Twitter 
• click here to comment your entries at the bottom of this post

This drawing ends Sunday, June 6th at midnight.  The winner will be notified June 7th by email so please don't forget your email address!!!


Good luck!
~Mommy Bridget

Petite Planet: ALERT: Tune in to 'Toxic America' Starting Tonight on CNN

Petite Planet: ALERT: Tune in to 'Toxic America' Starting Tonight on CNN

NVIC Vaccine News

For the record, I am NOT anti-vaccine.  I believe that vaccines have been created with the best of intentions, have saved many lives, and are one way to rid the human population of deadly diseases.  My son has been vaccinated against some diseases and I feel that the choice to do so was the best choice for us.  HOWEVER, I am also a believer that NOT ALL VACCINES ARE SAFE...which is why he has not had the "recommended" types and amounts of vaccinations for a child his age.  I believe the risks of receiving all of the recommended vaccines are much greater than of contracting the diseases the vaccines are made to protect against and having serious implications from doing so.  

Did anyone hear about the Rotavirus vaccine made from the pig virus? This is one of the recommended vaccines given to children at 2 months, 4 months, and 6 months.  I highly recommend watching the link below from the National Vaccine Information Center.  
 
NVIC Vaccine News

Just like anything else humans discover, create, and claim to be "factual", vaccines said to be safe today are often times, with the Rotavirus vaccine as a good example, deemed unsafe tomorrow.  I hope that parents understand the risks involved in vaccinating just as much as they understand the risks in not vaccinating.  Ignorance is a very big problem in the health and safety of our children.  This is a complicated...COMPLICATED topic and choosing to vaccinate or not should be made with confidence.

~Mommy Bridget