Ramblers Way
This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Ramblers Way. All opinions are 100% mine.
If I had an imaginary shopping spree on www.ramblersway.com for their soft, light weight wool clothing, I would probably get one of these machine-washable superfine camisoles made of chemical free, sustainably produced, Superfine American Rambouillet 18.5 micron wool.
The camisole is $55 but warms and cools your body depending on the temperature, so you can wear it year round.
I’m also eyeing these low-rise hipster briefs. At $40, they would be the most expensive undies in my collection, but check out this product description:
Ramblers Way wool naturally repels odors, and you can easily go days without having to wash these briefs. And when they do need a rinse, rest comfortably knowing our wool is fully machine-washable, through an all-natural enzyme to resist shrinking.
Undies you don’t have to wash? Hmm. Not that I endorse not washing underwear, but I’m just saying, sometimes when you are on the road, you want to pack light.
Following that thought, I’m eyeing the Next-to-Skin Women’s Scoop Neck top for some sensible layering under all kinds of awesomeness. For $75, this would be a bit of an investment by my standards. But the product description says that it is a good length for making me look good in my skinny jeans or leggings. Holla!
These fashionable and functional wool items kind of challenge my preconceived ideas of wool clothing (bulky socks and Swedish ski sweaters with reigndeer on them).
Sleek, soft and sustainable? Apparently, that is Ramblers Way wool.
Submit Article: Digg | Google Bookmarks | Add to Technorati Favorites | kirtsy | Stumble It! | Del.icio.us
ThermaCELL Mosquito Repellent
Are you hoping to spend time outside as the summer heat tapers, but aren’t crazy about the idea of being ravished by mosquitoes?
ThermaCELL mosquito repellent products are 98% effective and can create a bug-free zone in just a couple of minutes.
This cool lantern is odorless, flameless and portable, ready for outdoor action.
ThermaCELL is powered by a butane cartridge which provides the cordless, portable heat. You insert a small mat saturated with allethrin (a copy of a natural insecticide found in chrysanthemum flowers), and the heat from the butane vaporizes the repellant and creates your “Mosquito Free Zone” as it wafts about.
ThermaCELL products ward off biting bugs, black flies an no-see-ums in a 15×15ft area according to test conducted by the US Department of Defense.
If you don’t want to spray the whole fam down with DEET, ThermaCELL products are worth a try!
Look for them in the outdoor section of stores like Wal-Mart and Home Depot.
Submit Article: Digg | Google Bookmarks | Add to Technorati Favorites | kirtsy | Stumble It! | Del.icio.us
NutraSea
Essential fatty acids (EFAs) do good things for your body.
If you have eating habits like mine, it is difficult to get adequate EFAs from the food you eat (I have never in my life eaten fish 2-3 times a week. Now you know my dirty lack-of-fish-eating secret).
There is a new NutraSea Kids supplement for delivering EFAs with a Very Berry taste and high quality standards.
This is a liquid supplement that can be taken on its own or added to smoothies, milkshakes, yogurt and other food favorites.
One teaspoon (5ml) of NutraSea Kids each day provides children omega-3 and vitaminD for development.
NutraSea Kids is recommended for children aged 2-13. I have had my children on EFA supplements since they were each two-years-old.
I am not a doctor or dietician or a nutritionist, but I believe that EFA supplements help to control my hyperactive child’s energy swings, keeping them more level throughout the day.
I can’t really prove that it does or doesn’t work, but I feel good about it and I don’t want to take a chance on ceasing the supplements!
If any of your children have fish allergies you should consult your doctor before using NutraSea.
…
“I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central on behalf of NutraSea Kids campaign and received NutraSea samples to facilitate my candid review.Mom Central sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.”
Submit Article: Digg | Google Bookmarks | Add to Technorati Favorites | kirtsy | Stumble It! | Del.icio.us
Retro Recipe: Cornmeal Griddle Cakes
Deeds and I did a little Sunday Dinner project and whipped up some Cornmeal Griddle Cakes from a 1930’s recipe.
This is the recipe:
Cornmeal Griddle Cakes
3/4 cup cornmeal
1 cup boiling water
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 cup sour milk
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Pour boiling water over the cornmeal, stir until thickens then add sugar, milk, eggs. Beat and allow to cool.
Sift flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda and add to the cornmeal mixture. Mix well, then pour as you would for pancakes onto a slightly greased griddle. Makes 12.
…
We didn’t use butter, and I used our panini grill for our “griddle”. The first batch stuck on the bottom so I brushed it with coconut oil before the second round.
To make “sour milk” I added 1 tsp vinegar to the cup of regular milk and let it stand for 5 minutes.
I had planned to eat mine with salsa but the salsa I made a couple weeks ago had a nice white fuzzy mold on top.
Instead I had some all-fruit peach preserves (no sugar. and no fake sugar, either.)
Then I had to bust out the locally made Mulberry preserves that contain 44% sugar. WOOHOO!
I bet you would do well with raw honey, regular honey, or syrup, too.
Or even something crazy like creamed spinach on top.
I’m just that wild.
Submit Article: Digg | Google Bookmarks | Add to Technorati Favorites | kirtsy | Stumble It! | Del.icio.us
Rock Symphonies
Rock Symphonies is the newest album from best-selling classical artist David Garrett
I was previously unintiated to the work of master violinist David Garret; Rock Symphonies mixes what are apparently his two loves: classical music and the rock-and-roll songs.
Firstly, we are starting out right with an 80’s rock-and-roll album cover. Yep. I feel that.
Have you ever been in a restaurant, heard instrumental music being piped in, then suddenly realize what you are hearing is a naked version of your favorite Top 40 hit from 9 years ago?
When that happens to me, it kind of makes my day.
Partly because my mind contains an internal encyclopedia of song lyrics and commercial slogans from days gone by.
Listening to Rock Symphonies gives me those same kinds of gleeful warm-fuzzies.
Just look at the track listing, and I hope you will understand:
- Smells Like Teen Spirit
- November Rain
- The 5th
- Walk This Way
- Toccata
- Vivaldi vs. Vertigo
- Master of Puppets
- 80’s Anthem
- Live and Let Die
- Asturias
- Kashmir
Have you ever thought of what Smells Like Teen Spirit would sound like if performed by a symphony? It is way fun! Like a really cultured version of Muzak!
Check out the David Garrett website, the David Garrett MySpace page, the David Garrett Facebook Fanpage, or see David Garrett on YouTube.
I was given a complimentary copy of this CD via the Music Moms review program.
Submit Article: Digg | Google Bookmarks | Add to Technorati Favorites | kirtsy | Stumble It! | Del.icio.us
He Promised Me The Moon Dough
New from Spin Master Toys, (the company that brought us Aquadoodle and Moon Sand, among other things) is a gluten-free molding compound called MOON DOUGH *no moons were harmed in the making of this dough.
Moon Dough is about the weight of smooshed-up cotton candy, and the texture of a marshmallow.
It is not sticky, but can sometimes be a bit crumbly, and is supposed to “never dry out.”
The texture and un-tackiness make Moon Dough a good option for tactilely defensive children (those with sensory issues who don’t like to touch certain textures).
The Moon Dough Magic Barnyard is a play set that comes with 3 bags of Moon Dough and molds to create 4 different barnyard animals; a chicken, pig, sheep and a cow. You can also mold fences and hay bales to keep those animals in line.
You also get a playmat to help contain the crumbly bits. Overall, Moon Dough is way less messy than Moon Sand.
The "Molding Barn" is loaded from the top, then you have to turn the crank twice to create a 3D Moon Dough farm animal.
This toy is recommended for ages 2 to 4. The crank is easy to turn but I wonder if a two year old could load the mold properly without help.
The mold has to be well packed in order not to malfunction inside of the magical barn.
The Moon Dough is purported to never dry out, but it would have been nice for the play set to include storage containers. I guess the family Gladware can do the job.
Moon Dough-Crazy? Check out the Moon Dough website, fan Moon Dough on Facebook, or follow @MoonDoughToy on twitter.
This Moon Dough was sent to me on behalf of the Team Mom review program.
More Team Mom Moon Dough Reviews:
Submit Article: Digg | Google Bookmarks | Add to Technorati Favorites | kirtsy | Stumble It! | Del.icio.us
Island Potcake Dogs
Potcakes are indigenous mixed breed dogs found in two Caribbean territories, namely The Bahamas and Turks and Caicos. -Wikipedia
Island Potcake Dogs is a new children’s picture book about two potcakes by author/illustrator Mary R. Lee.
The two dog’s names are “Pot” and “Cakes".
At the beginning of the story, dog-brothers Pot and Cakes are essentially homeless, eating scraps and sleeping where they may.
Cakes is fearful of the mean people they encounter, and Pot serves as his protector.
As fate would have it, a couple from the US vacationing on the island discover the plight of Pot and Cakes and rescue them.
Pot and Cakes enjoy a new life in the US being loved and cared for by their new owners, and becoming proper trained dogs.
I think Island Potcake Dogs does a good job of describing hardship in the dog’s lives without being too doom-and-gloom so as to disturb children, and it has a happy ending!
I remember being very disturbed by the Benji movies when I was a child.
The illustrations in Island Potcake Dogs are adorable. Deeds, my 3-year-old, loves “woof woofs” and is ever intrigued. As an extra special bonus, children can cut out their own paper Island Potcake Dogs at the end of the book.
I reviewed Island Potcake Dogs through a Parent Reviewers book tour. Read the other Parent Reviewers takes on this book:
Check out the Island Potcake Dogs website, too!
Submit Article: Digg | Google Bookmarks | Add to Technorati Favorites | kirtsy | Stumble It! | Del.icio.us
green start Books and Toys
The green start™ series from innovativeKids is a line of books and toys for ages 18 months to 6 years, created with the goal to give children an awareness of the natural world.
Each earth-friendly product is made from 98% post-consumer recycled materials and is printed with eco-friendly ink.
We got a Under the Sea Giant Floor Puzzle (ARV $14.99), consisting of 35 oversized cardboard pieces printed with and engaging ocean scene.
The smooth cardboard and glossy inks make these puzzle pieces tactilely enjoyable.
Deeds (age 3) enjoyed trying to put it together (with help). Jojo (ge 5) made the Under Sea puzzle and then put together a pirate ship puzzle on top of it (sailing the sea!).
The whole thing comes packaged in a “tote box” with a handle, for easy storage and carrying.
There are many new green start products for 2010, including wooden tray puzzles, board books, and more floor puzzle designs.
All of them are eco-friendly and adorable!
Visit Innovative Kids to see the entire green start range.
Thanks, Innovative Kids, for these cute, simple, Earth-friendly products!
Submit Article: Digg | Google Bookmarks | Add to Technorati Favorites | kirtsy | Stumble It! | Del.icio.us
Aesthetic
I took this picture as a tongue-in-cheek example of my sweet creative abilities at work in the classroom.
I can’t say that teaching preschool doesn’t require creativity.
Just that my problem solving is less about creating something pleasant to look at, and more about creating a physically and emotionally safe environment in which to learn (or live…my frugal meals are pretty creative).
How can I restrain this tantrum-ing child so that he doesn’t hurt himself or others?
How do I distract the student who is really weepy today?
How can I give them a measure of independence, the opportunity to take risks at making mistakes, yet still get us all where we need to be on time?
The things that I accomplish in a work day are difficult to measure or report.
The quiet kid joined in our singing today. The tactilely defensive child played in the sand box.
I can’t predict when a ray of light will break through a dark cloud. But it does happen. And I like to think I had something to do with it.
Today I’m tired. But content.
Submit Article: Digg | Google Bookmarks | Add to Technorati Favorites | kirtsy | Stumble It! | Del.icio.us
Learning Online
I completed my undergraduate degree at a traditional public university, but was fortunate enough to complete my Master’s Degree through a combination of distance learning and on-campus classes.
I am currently taking classes online for continuing education to keep my teaching degree all shiny and new.
Working full time and being a mom of two and living overseas pretty much leaves online classes as my only option for continuing ed.
I won’t try to glamorize it: it is hard work! But I’m very glad to be making progress toward my goal.
American Public University (APU) has more than 100 degree programs that can be completed entirely online.
Classes start on a monthly basis, so you aren’t limited by traditional school “semester” chunks.
APU also has some of the lowest tuition rates in the country: undergraduate classes cost $750 per 3-credit course.
If you already have your bachelor’s degree, APU also has graduate programs for those looking to advance their careers.
APU has some live chats coming up where you can speak with other Moms about their experience going back to school at APU:
Helenjene Curtis: Bachelor of Arts in Psychology
Tuesday, August 24 at 8 p.m. ET
Jenn Deater: Bachelor of Arts in Hospitality Management
Thursday, August 26 at 12:00 p.m. ET
“I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central on behalf of American Public University. Mom Central sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.”
Submit Article: Digg | Google Bookmarks | Add to Technorati Favorites | kirtsy | Stumble It! | Del.icio.us
Search
Write a word and hit enter key.Subscribe
Friends
Link to Us
