Wrapped Up Review Wednesday Nature's Baby Organics

I think y'all are used to my little rants about what we use on and around our body has a profound effect on our body. One of my biggest goals is to use all natural items on my daughter when she is bathing. My daughter has the most sensitive skin I've ever seen. She's 5 1/2 and we still have to use dreft because of her reaction to regular detergents. She randomly (but often) breaks out in hives, often without an apparent reason. My daughter is also a special needs child who has been through a whole lot in her little life and I want to do everything I can to make it easier for her. One of the things that I can do for her is to make sure she is using products that are safe. When I first looked at the Nature's Baby Organics website I was instantly impressed. One of the first things you see is that the products do not contain:
• No Parabens • No Phthalates • No Propylene Glycol
• No Sulfates (SLS)• No Synthetic Fragrances• No DEA
Nature's Baby Organics really did cover all their bases! I also love that Nature's Baby Organics gives a complete list of all of the natural ingredients and their use. Check out the ingredient list HERE. The products that I tried from Nature's Baby Organics are: Shampoo and Body Wash in Vanilla-Tangerine Scent, Conditioner & Detangler (Leave in or rinse out!) in Vanilla-Tangerine Scent, Aromatherapy Calming Spray, Organic Soothing Stick, Ah-Choo Chest Rub.

I've got to say that our experience with Nature's Baby Organics has been incredible! My daughter has been known to react to even all natural products so I'm very cautious and we always patch test now. She tolerated everything and had absolutely no reactions whatsoever. I was a very happy mom! The Shampoo and Body wash lathers nicely and cleans very well. The scent is so yummy! I used this as a body wash for myself and also really liked it and would definitely use it again! I LOVE the Conditioner & Detangler. I love that you can leave it in or rinse it out. My daughter has the craziest curly hair and she really needs a condition that works. Nature's Baby Organics Conditioner & Detangler works wonders for her hair! For my hair the Conditioner & Detangler left my hair looking greasy the next morning. I really liked the scent but this product is much better for only my daughter. If you asked my daughter which her favorite product was she would tell you the Aromatherapy Calming Spray. She loves spraying her pillows before going to bed. The lavender scent is so wonderful! As far as the Organic Soothing Stick I truly cannot rave enough about this product! Its so versatile! My daughters cheeks and lips are very dry so I applied this after bath time and it really helped! We've also used it on some of my daughters "booboo's". I love that I was able to put a product on her face and she didn't react to it! Last but not least the Ah-Choo Chest Rub. Another great product by Nature's Baby Company! My dad has actually used this since we've all be so sick here! I used it on my daughter and it was great for helping her breathe better at night! All in all I give Nature's Baby Company a big thumbs up! I will most definitely recommend their products and will continue to use them for my daughter and myself. If you are interested in natural bath & body products or have a child that has sensitive skin I would really encourage you to try Nature's Baby Company.

Wrapped Up Review Wednesday HoMedics Rechargeable Spinning Pedicure Tool

One of the perks when you have a blog that does reviews is that you get a lot of products to try out. I love that companies want and trust my opinion! I have found that most of the time when a company cares enough to have a product reviewed they usually have a good product. Makes sense right? I also think that times are tough and we all make purchases and hope for the best. As consumers our voices are heard not by what we say but what we buy. I love reading reviews on websites when its available. It so much more comfortable to spend money on a product when other people have had good luck with it. Today I'm going to do a review on HoMedics Rechargeable Spinning Pedicure Tool. This review is completely my own and in no way has been solicited by the HoMedics brand/company. Let me preface this by saying I have a "thing" about feet. It absolutely makes me crazy to have dry, scaly, icky feet and I don't like it too much on others either! Now I live in Illinois where the weather in winter tends to be not nice. Cold, dry and generally not conducive to having nice smooth feet- especially if you run around barefoot indoors all the time. I saw the HoMedics Rechargeable Spinning Pedicure Tool at a local store and thought the price wasn't too bad and decided to give it a try. I was really keen on the fact that it was rechargeable with several different attachments. I'm a previous PedEgg person and wasn't totally thrilled with that. I brought home the HoMedics Rechargeable Spinning Pedicure Tool and promptly plugged that bad boy in to charge it up. Fast forward to the next day. Since I'd just gotten a spa pedi a few days earlier my feet weren't in horrible shape so I was able to use the finer of the pumice attachments. I was completely impressed! It works like a dream and left my feet completely smooth and soft. What more can you ask for?!!? I actually used the unit on my daughters feet since she's another one who is always barefoot. The unit holds a charge well and the different attachments are all great. Now I must say from the beginning I wish that the attachments could be replaced/reordered but that isn't an option. Once again lets fast forward. This time a month. Out of nowhere my HoMedics Rechargeable Spinning Pedicure Tool will not work at all. The charge light doesn't come on and its dead as can be. I'm so bummed. Now I'm sure that you could say that this is a relatively inexpensive product so what I got what I paid for. Personally I'd like to think that $15 can get you a bit more than a month of a product that wasn't put to hard use! So, if I had to go back and decide whether I would spend this money again on the HoMedics Rechargeable Spinning Pedicure Tool I would have to say "NO". My money is too valuable for me to be throwing it away. If I'm going to purchase something I would rather spend a bit more and have a product that lasts. So there you have it! While this worked wonderfully it didn't work nearly long enough!

Wrapped Up Review Wednesday Palm-Palms Baby Bath Grips Review & Giveaway

The great folks from Palm-palms baby bath grips sent me a pair of palm-palms to try and a few to give away. How cool is that?!!? When I first saw this product I did one of the many "Man, I wish my princess wasn't so big! Where were these when she was a baby?!!?" Palm-palms remind me of sweat bands in a way but they have a thumb hole incorporated in them and they are super soft! Not only do they make it easier to hold on to that precious little bundle that becomes slick as all get out once you add water but they can also be used to lather up said slippery one! Seriously, isn't that the coolest idea? Since my daughter is a bit too big for me to give them an accurate testing I sent a pair over to my sister to try out on my nephew who is just a bit over a year old. As it turned out my brother in law is the person who is mainly in charge of bath time at their house so he gave them a whirl. My bil reported that they were just a bit snug. Now please don't be at all concerned by that assessment. Did I mention that my bil is a giant among men at 6'8"? He has hands and feet that resemble small boats so I think palm-palms would have no problem fitting a "normal" (sorry Larry!) sized person! That said he thought the palm-palms definitely added a bit of grip and liked that aspect. All in all palm-palms were a winner! Oh, I forgot, they're also machine washable! I definitely plan on getting palm-palms for any new mommies I know of! Its definitely in my top 5 list of great items to own! As I said the great people at palm-palms have sent two extra pairs for me to give away. One white set and one pink set.

So how do you win a pair of palm-palms baby bath grips? Go to the Palm-palms site and look around
Come back here & comment on what color palm-palms you would like
Told you it'd be easy! Want some extra chances? OK!
-Follow this blog. No need to leave a comment. Followers are entered in every giveaway!
-Add my button to your blog. Leave a link and a comment. 1 extra chance
-Blog about this giveaway. Leave a link and a comment. 1 extra chance
-Email 3 friends and cc me (savvysahmreviews@yahoo.com) for 3 extra chances

Winners will be picked March 4 and will have 3 days to claim their prize. If the prize is not claimed in 3 days a new winner is drawn. Please make sure you leave your email address on all comments or that it is found on your profile.

Wrapped Up Review Wednesday

Have you ever used one of those products that you instantly fell in love with?!!!? It works wonderfully, its good for you/your child, its eco friendly. All those things are very important to me. Its also very important that my princess gets to act like the princess she is. One of her favorites is getting her nails painted (it might be because I started painting her toe nails at 6 weeks of age!) I've never had a problem with doing her toe nails since she wasn't ever one of those kiddos who stuck her foot anywhere near her mouth. Unfortunately painted toe nails only wasn't enough to satisfy the Princess. This is where my dilemma came in. How could I paint her nails knowing that she would have her fingers near her mouth? I shouldn't have her brush her teeth or have any finger food? Not going to happen. That said I just couldn't get over putting all of those chemicals on her fingers and be ok it with. Drum roll please! Enter Piggy Paint!!! This stuff is amazing! Before I tell you about our trial run with Piggy Paint here is some information about it.

Why is Piggy Paint™ Nail Polish the safe nail polish choice for children?

Non-toxic
Odorless
Water-based formula
Hypoallergenic
Fun, vibrant colors
Dries to a hard, durable finish
Piggy Paint™ is specially formulated from God’s natural ingredients and dries to a hard, durable finish. There are no toxic chemicals; it’s free of formaldehyde, toluene, phthalates, biphenyl A, ethyl acetate and acetone. Click here to see how our polish compares!

How is Piggy Paint™ as “Natural as Mud”?
Piggy Paint is as “Natural as Mud” in the sense that every ingredient in the polish is biodegradable with no traces or residues left behind, thus it would make an excellent addition to your mulch pile or as a feed for farm animals.

Our water-based nail polish is non-toxic, environmentally safe, hypoallergenic, with an odor that is extremely low, nearly nonexistent. It has the same look and durability performance as traditional kid polishes, but without the drawbacks of foul odors, toxicity, and damage to our environment and to your little ones’ nails.

Honestly, does it get any better than that?!!!? Add to it that this nail polish is a pure delight to use and its truly amazing! My daughter has very ridged nails for some unknown reason and nail polish has never adhered well to her nails. The night we test ran Piggy Paint we sat down and put a coat on her fingers and toes. This stuff dries so quickly I was completely amazed! A few minutes later I put on a second coat and again it was super fast to dry. My daughter was thrilled with her matching fingers and toes and I had no guilt over it being on her precious little body! The polish stayed pretty for almost a week! This was the start of our love affair with Piggy Paint.

The great folks over at Piggy Paint have given me a 3 pack of Piggy Paint Polishes to share with one incredibly lucky Savvy SAHM Review reader!

First entry (must have this completed for any other entries to be valid)
-Go to Piggy Paint and take a look around. After that send an email to savvysahmreviews@yahoo.com telling me what prompted Melanie to create Piggy Paints

Extra Entries:
-what is your favorite color Piggy Paint? Leave a comment. One entry
-who is the Piggy Paint for? Leave a comment. One entry
-Become a Savvy SAHM Review follower. (no need to leave a comment)
-Add our button to your blog. Leave a comment with a link. 3 entries
-Blog about this giveaway. Leave a comment with a link. 3 entries
-Enter our Jensen Beach Beads giveaway. Leave a comment. 3 entries
-Send an email to 3 friends and CC me at savvysahmreviews@yahoo.com for 3 entries

Giveaway runs through midnight CST next Wed. Feb 11. Winner will be announced on Feb 12. Winner will have 72 hours to get in touch with me or a new winner is chosen. Please make sure you leave an email on your entries or it is accessible on your blog.

Wrapped Up Review Wednesday Skoy Cloth Giveaway

As we come close to the end of the Better living giveaway I decided to keep up with the green cleaning theme for my reviews. I was sent a sample of Skoy Cloths from Michelle at http://www.skoycloth.com/. Here is a description straight from the Skoy website:

SKOY cloth is a ...
100% biodegradable
Absorbent
Re-usable
European-made
Clean
And Fun…
Multi-use cloth

The SKOY cloth is a fabulous, absorbent, biodegradable and natural multi-use cloth. Our re-usable earth friendly cloth is perfect in your kitchen, bathroom, and on most surface areas in your home or office. SKOY cloth can be used in place of your sponge, wash cloth or paper towels.
It is a European made product and 100% biodegradable because it is made from a natural cotton and wood-based cellulose pulp. SKOY cloth is a chlorine-free product using water-based colors and inks. After an independent composting test, SKOY cloth broke down completely within 5 weeks.
The SKOY cloth is a durable product due to the reusability factor and can last months. Using a SKOY cloth is equivalent to using 15 rolls of paper towels in an average home. With the high cost of paper towels, at least $2 a roll, SKOY cloth is the obvious choice for your wallet and the environment.
The SKOY cloth has an absorption factor of 15x its own weight. As a result, producing the most superior cloth product available. Imagine using 15 sheets of good-quality paper towels at once… This is how a wet SKOY cloth will feel in your hand.
The SKOY cloth is long-lasting because of the wash ability feature. It dries quickly, so it is not a breeding ground for bacteria. Have you ever used your sponge, then smelled your hand and it reeked of horrible bacteria? That will never happen again if you microwave your SKOY cloth regularly. It is also dishwasher and washer/dryer safe. Cleaning your SKOY cloth will keep it healthy and germ-free. Please see Use & Care for instructions.
The cool and unique designs will make cleaning fun! SKOY Enterprises plans to launch new designs in early 2008.

After using Skoy cloths during cleaning around my house I have to say that I'm completely in love with them! They are incredibly absorbent, wash very well and don't leave little bits of lint. I've been keeping one by my kitchen sink and using the other for cleaning the bathrooms. Everything that Skoy Cloth advertises on their home page is true! They dry very quickly so you don't have that damp ick smell, they are super absorbent and they're great for the planet and your pocketbook! Honestly, does it get any better than that? You can order Skoy cloths from the Skoy website and they even offer a subscription option that has free shipping! Once again, does it get any better?!!?

Now for those of you who are relatively new to the green cleaning movement perhaps you aren't sure of some of the reasons that green cleaning is a much better healthier way to clean. A quick crash course here! (If you'd like more information feel free to use the contact button to email me and I'll point you in the right direction!) First and foremost the best reason to use green cleaning supplies is that there aren't any negative side/health affects. The HUGE majority of cleaning agents used in the US are not tested or regulated in any way. Do you really want to be cleaning your house with something that you have to use in a well ventilated area? For most things you can a very comparable cleaning solution using a combination of water, vinegar, baking soda & essential oils. Nothing in that is going to hurt you! If making your own solutions isn't your thing you have great companies life Better Life that offers incredible green cleaning supplies that are already made! One of the things I've noticed since I've been doing exclusive green cleaning in my house is that I LIKE cleaning (at least more than I did before!). I know that I'm not harming myself, my daughter or the planet. I know that I'm teaching my daughter to respect the earth and all of that makes for a happy self!

Now back to Skoy Cloths. I've already told you how well they work. Lets discuss the environmental impact. I don't know if I could ever completely give up the use of paper towels but having Skoy Cloths on hand certainly makes it much much easier to reduce my paper towel usage. In all actuality the Skoy Cloths are nicer because they are thicker and you don't worry about them tearing. All in all they're a great product to have in your home! So now that I've got you all excited about Skoy Cloths I figure I should give you a chance to try them for yourself! One lucky Savvy SAHM Review Reader is going to be the lucky recipient of a 4 pack of Skoy Cloths!

How to win?
-Go to Skoy Cloths website and take a look around. Come back here and leave a comment where you think you would use Skoy Cloths the most! Honestly, that it! Its that easy!

Extra Chances to win
-Grab the Savvy SAHM Review Blog button and display it on your blog. Leave a comment and a link! 1 extra chance
-Blog about this giveaway. Leave a comment and a link 1 extra chance
-Become a follower. Every SSR follower is entered into every giveaway that we have (no need to leave a comment!)
-Email 3 friends about Skoy Cloths and/or this giveaway. CC me in the email at savvysahmreviews@yahoo.com Worth 2 extra chances
-Buy Skoy Cloths from http://www.skoycloth.com/ and let them know you heard about them here! 10 extra chances!

This giveaway will end January 28th at midnight CST. The winner will be posted on Thursday the 29th. Please make sure you leave an email with your comments or that I can email you from your blog. Winner has 3 days to respond after that a new winner is chosen.

Wrapped Up Review Wednesday Better Life

Today I'm going to share with you my take on Better Life Cleaning Products. I am one of those moms who has been becoming increasing dismayed by the products that were being used for cleaning...our homes, our bodies. It started with my microbiology class and just snowballed. Truly a little information can be a very scary thing. Skin is your biggest organ and it absorbs things readily. Then you can start reading about the chemicals in our cleaning products and how they can harm you let alone the little people running around your house who depending on their age might not have their central nervous system fully developed yet and its scary! For awhile my sister & I have been making our own cleaning agents. Its very easy to go online and find a lot of different recipes for cleaning solutions and usually its a lot more economical to make your own. You can customize them to your liking...a definite plus! Now that said, it can also be a drag trying to motivate yourself to whip up a batch of toilet cleaner. Enter Better Life! I was the lucky recipient of what-EVER! all purpose cleaner, I can see clearly- WOW! glass cleaner, Floored floor cleaner and Even the Kitchen Sink scrub cleaner. I honestly went into this thinking I can make it just as well as better so why should I spend the money on this? Well, frankly because it is better than what I was making! This stuff rocks! I love that most of the items are not scented- great for someone who is asmathic like me! and what is scented is done with essential oils and isn't overwhelming! The glass cleaner works so well that I almost couldn't believe it! My 5 year old things that one of her jobs in life is to "paint" on the bathroom mirror using water and occasionally tooth paste. Needless to say the mirror gets DIRTY! I sprayed I can see clearly-Wow on there and wiped it with a paper towel (I know...not really green but my Skoy Clothes were in the laundry). It only took one time to get the mirror sparkling clean! No spots and not a lot of elbow grease was needed! I then sprayed down the toilet, sink, counter and bathtub with what-EVER! I'm so happy to say the results were the same for that! Fast, thorough cleaning! Even the uck under the soap came off very quickly! I used Even the Kitchen Sink scrub for the sink and once again fell in love! It got the gross nasty stuff off of the drain. You know that stuff that you either have to really scrub or use something totally toxic like LimeAway on? This dug right through it with a couple of scrubs and it was back to shiny. Without something that would harm anyone! I can honestly recommend Better Life cleaning products. I know that I will continue to use them!

So, now for the really cool part! I have two sets of Better Life Cleaning Products (what-EVER, Even the Kitchen Sink, Floored, I can see clearly- WOW!) to give to TWO lucky Savvy SAHM Review readers! Here's how to enter to win one of the sets!
-go to Better Life
take a look around & tell me which product you would like to try and why (1 chance)
- go to Better Life and come back here and comment about something you didn't know! (1 chance)
-become a follower (no need to leave a comment) (1 chance)
-add my button to your blog (leave a comment & link) (1 chance)
-share your favorite green cleaning tip (1 chance)
-blog about this. leave a comment & link (1 chance)

Winners will be picked next Wed. Jan 21. and announced on Thursday. Please make sure you leave a way to get a hold of you!

Wrapped Up Review Wednesday Cranium Polar Bear A B C game

I first heard about the Cranium Polar Bear A-B-C from another blog that was hosting a giveaway for it. I was very excited and hoped to win it as we're working on letter recognition with my daughter. Alas, I wasn't the winner but the next week Target was offering it as a $4 sale item. Bingo! I can do that. My daughter loves polar bears and penguins so I thought this would be a sure thing as far as her liking it. The concept of the game is really really very good. Unfortunately the fine details leave a bit to be desired. The "lake" that stores the letters for players to "go fishing" for letters attaches to the board. Unfortunately it doesn't attach well so it is very easy to come off. The magnets on the letters also aren't as strong as they need to be for the "fishing" for letters to be successful. The idea is still a wonderful learning tool so I wound up putting the letters in a cup and we just reached in and grabbed a letter. That was much easier. All of that being said though I would still recommend this game for kids 3+ that are learning to recognize letters or learn to spell. Just know that you might need some adaptation.

Wrapped Up Review Wednesday

Thanks for joining me for our first Wrapped Up Review Wednesday! (Don't worry... giveaways are returning tomorrow!)

I choose to cover Johnson & Johnsons no more tangles leave in conditioner. Here is what this product looks like at your local store:

And this is the product description right from the Johnson and Johnson's website:

JOHNSON'S® NO MORE TANGLES® Leave-in Conditioner
Lightweight formula tames stubborn knots and snarls

Introducing your new secret weapon in the battle of the brush! JOHNSON'S® NO MORE TANGLES® Leave-in Conditioner detangles and conditions your toddler's hair in one easy step. No rinsing required. The lightweight formula gently unlocks the toughest knots and tangles for shiny, comb-friendly hair without the fuss.

Unique NO MORE TANGLES® formula
Light, fresh scent
Allergy-tested
Gentle enough for everyday use
How to Use
Pour a dime size amount into your palm (use more if your little one has long hair or has especially troublesome knots) and rub it between your hands to form a thin layer. Start at the crown and use your fingers to gently work the conditioner downward through your toddler's hair. Then just comb, style and go!

When to Use
Tangle busting isn't just for bathtime anymore. You can use JOHNSON'S® NO MORE TANGLES® Leave-in Conditioner on wet or dry hair, or any time you want to tame knots and fly-aways. The unique formula has a light fresh scent, and is allergy tested so it's gentle enough to use every day.

Safety
Keep out of reach of children. Remember to remove the quality seal. Do not use if the quality seal is already broken.

Ingredients
Water, Dimethicone, Glycerin, Behenyl Alcohol, Polyquaternium-37, Propylene Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate, Behentrimonium Chloride, Fragrance, Methylparaben, PPG-1, Trideceth-6, Propylparaben, Cetrimonium Chloride, Sodium Hydroxide


I'll start out with the con(s) of which there really aren't that many. I would have to say that my first complaint per se is the fragrance- in my opinion (which hey is why you're reading this, right?!!?) is that its a bit strong. The rest isn't a complaint but more a warning if you are a green mom or just someone who is watching what is going on (and therefore into) your child please note that ingredients. Parabens are nasty stuff. I make very sure when using this not to get it on my daughters scalp.

Now for what I do like about the product- and honestly my overall opinion is that I really do like this product! My daughter has very curly, very coarse hair that is always out of control. I like that I can throw this on right after her bath or in the morning getting ready for school. It doesn't wet the hair down and does work very quickly and very well. This does leave my daughters hair softer and most definitely gets rid of the knots. None of that "Ouch...you're huring me!" and honestly who wouldn't want a bit less of that? Price wise this isn't a heavy hit as the price range is between $3.50-$4.50. That said a little bit goes a very long way.

So, have you used this product on your little one(s)? Think my review is accurate? Please feel free to drop a line or leave a comment!