Mommy Kudos Gift Guide Day 18

 
 
 

If you are new to the Mommy Kudos Gift Guide you can find more of them here. Be sure to enter the Keeki Pure & Natural Nail Polish Gift Set Giveaway.

Day 18

Moms
 
Not every mom would like cleaners as a gift but if you know a mom who is passionate about healthy living then this would be a great gift.  I love these cleaners!! 
 

It’s hard to avoid all of the advertising claims lately about green cleaning products.  The problem is that many green cleaning products are not actually safer for you and your kids.  They may be trying to be a bit more “earth friendly” but they often still have all kinds of chemicals, carcinogens (can cause cancer), and ingredients that are harmful, especially to children. 

I have been passionate about cleaning safely for a few years now, ever since I realized that it was just about as important as eating clean foods.  The cleaners we all use come into contact with our hands, little bottoms (in the bath tub), the air we breath and even our food when we wash dishes in the sink and food touches our counter tops.

I have finally found cleaners that I absolutely love and feel very safe about using around, and even with, my children.  They are from NewLeaf Clean.  All of the ingredients are all natural and you can actually pronounce them! Each ingredient is something you will recognize like vinegar, organic coconut oil, organic aloe vera, peppermint essential oil blend and others.

These cleaners work amazingly well and smell really good.  No chemical smells here.  They sell an All-Purpose Cleaner, Glass Cleaner, Granite Cleaner, Bathroom Cleaner, and Dish & Hand Soap.  My favorites are the All-Purpose that I use all over and the Granite Cleaner that cleans and shines granite amazingly well. 

Because I really believe in training my children to be able to clean on their own one day, I allow them to use these cleaners while doing their chores.  I feel perfectly safe with them using them.  I do supervise the younger ones with cleaning but will let them spray these cleaners.  Aside from some homemade cleaners, NewLeaf Cleaners are the only ones I feel good about them using. 


Babies
Babies love mobiles and mobiles add so much to nursery decor. Get an adorable mobile from Love Felt Creations Etsy shop. There are several different themes to choose from. My favorites are the pink bird mobile & the owl mobile.  There are lots more styles and colors so check them out.



Kids
 

My kids love having their own chairs, especially when that chair is a comfy, easily movable seat to read in, play in, or watch a movie.  This year I am going to invest in a couple Pottery Barn Kids Anywhere chairs for Christmas.  I love that there are so many different prints available, from pretty flowers to boyish plaid, so I can get one for each kid to fit their personalities. 

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Shop Amazon’s Toys – Black Friday and Cyber Monday Deals Week

Favorite Finds for Babies and Toddlers

I came across some things for babies and toddlers this week that I just love. Thought I’d share:
First are the KIDZ Placemats by Modern-Twist.  Modern-Twist is all about bringing art to the table and they have some fabulously modern things for adults but I stumbled upon their kids placemats and fell in love.  They have some amazing designs.  I purchased 2 of the Alphabet Animals mats for my 2 and 5 year old.  They have been enjoying identifying the animals and letters at every meal. My 7 year old loves the Kat in the City placemat.
 The cool thing about these mats is that they are made from silky food-grade, hand silk-screened silicone.  Each one has a clear base so the artwork really stands out. You can roll these mats up and they won’t crack or break.  Plus they are a non-porous,  germ-free surface for kids to play and eat at.  I am thinking they will be great to throw in a diaper bag or purse to take when we eat out to cover icky tables. 
My kids favorite part may be that you can color on these with washable or dry erase markers! Just clean them off with a damp cloth or rinse.  
These great placemats are free of BPA, lead, latex, phthalates & other harsh chemical.  Check out their super cool adult palcemats, doilies and other stuff too!! 
I am also really digging the BABYBJÖRN cup.  They are calling it baby’s first cup.  For little ones with little hands this cup is easy to grip and the base stands firmly so that it is difficult to knock over.  Oh, and most importantly is it BPA free. This cup sells for close to $14 on Amazon.
How many times have you tried to weigh yourself while holding baby and then have to do the math to figure out baby’s weight? I think MOMO is really on to something with these nifty, portable baby and toddler scales.  These scales measure 9.25” W x 5.25” H x 0.75” D and will weigh up to 330 lbs (the device itself only weighs 22 oz.).  You can find these scales in different boy or girl designs at Amazon.

What are your favorite new finds? 

Backseat Driver Clothing and Accessories Review and Giveaway.

  

Have you seen the absolutely adorable lines for infants and toddlers from Backseat Driver?  Talk about cute!  Backseat Driver is all about fun, fashionable and comfortable clothing and accessories for your little backseat driver (clever name too!).
Backseat Driver is a boutique quality clothing and accessory line created by sisters, Kimberlee and Sarah, in Southern California. Their infant onesies and toddler tops are not only trendy and playful, but soft and comfortable and made in the USA. They saw there was a need for more hip, happening clothing for baby boys, so they set out to make it! I think they have done a fine job!
 Along with their clothing Backseat Driver makes great 100% cotton, handmade bibs & burp cloths backed with chenille.  They were so kind as to send me one of the Happy Butterfly Bibs and it could not be cuter!  I love that the backside is chenille fabric! It adds absorbency and cuteness! I love that they pay attention to all of the details such as the wavy stitching pattern and the cute little Backseat Driver tag.  The colorful and unique fabrics make bib wearing more stylish and I think these would make super, unique gifts for baby showers and birthdays!

Did I mention that Backseat Driver was at the Emmy’s last year? Jennifer Love Hewitt, Seth Green and Blair Underwood were just a few of the stars that had fun checking out all of the great Backseat Driver items (click here for pictures).

If you cannot wait for the giveaway to end to get your hands on the cuteness you can purchase Backseat Driver items by visiting them here. Enter the code: BABY for 15% off!


Now for the really great part! Backseat Driver is offering one lucky reader your choice of one bib/burp cloth (*pending availability since items are handmade & certain items are no longer made) To enter to WIN go visit Backseat Driver’s Customer Favorites and come back and tell me which one is your favorite too.  Be sure to leave me a way to contact you should you win.  

For more ways to enter leave me a comment for each action:

Follow this site via Google Friend Connect (see upper right side of this page)
Follow Backseat Driver on Twitter
Follow Kristin’s Review on Twitter
Like Backseat Driver on Facebook
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Subscribe to Kristin’s Review via email or RSS
Tweet about this giveaway: enter to #win an adorable bib/burp cloth set, onsie or thermal from Backseat Driver at www.Kristinsreview.com #backseatgiveaway

Giveaway ends 2/22/11 at 11:59 PM EST. Open to the US only.

Chlorine Free Natural Baby Wipe Comparison

I prefer to use chlorine-free all natural products for my babies sensitive diaper area.  The more I learn about the chemicals used in regular bleached diapers and regular baby wipes the more convinced I am that I shouldn’t use them.  Of course, there are cloth diapers and wipes which are a great option but sometimes you just need the convenience of disposables.  I decided to do a comparison between different all natural and organic wipes and offer you my opinion of the best ones.

BabyGanics– First of all, I believe that BabyGanics has changed their wipes recently.  I had purchased some in the past and vowed to never use them again because they were thin and felt rough.  However, I decided to give them another shot when I saw their new packaging.  Their new version is quilted and nice and thick.  They come in both Ultra Sensitive (fragrance free) and Cream Infused (baby fresh scent).  I prefer the Cream infused scent because, while they are supposed to be fragrance free, the sensitive wipes have a scent that I don’t care for.  These wipes clean messy diapers well with just a couple wipes.  The Cream Infused version stays wet for a long time while the Ultra Sensitive version dries out more quickly. The cream infused version actually seems to help reduce diaper rash.

 Seventh Generation– Seventh Generation wipes are thin and a little rough.  They dry out pretty quickly.  My husband actually instructed me to not buy them anymore because he disliked them so much.  You have to use quite a bit of them for messy diapers and I find that they are not gently enough on my diaper rash prone daughter. These are unscented but do have an smell to them.

Earths Best– These wipes are a similar material as the Seventh Generation but they are thicker and smoother.  They wipe up messes well and have a nice mild scent. These wipes dry out pretty fast though.

Over all the BabyGanics Cream Infused wipes get my vote and my money.  They are the ones that I will continue to purchase.  The Earth’s Best wipes would be a good back up if stores didn’t carry the BabyGanics.

 Do you have another favorite?  I’d love to hear about it!

Super Cute Baby Shoes, Sandals and Boots from Zuzii

Can you call shoes yummy?  These are so adorable!  I just can’t get over how sweet they are.  Check them out at Zuzii. Available in sizes o up to 6-9 months.  Here is what they say about their shoes:

“Our unique handmade footwear is designed with your baby’s comfort in mind. From the plush hand dyed stretch cotton uppers to the tri-layer soles, consisting of a layer of ortho cush-cork sandwiched between a leather insole and an anti-skid rubber sole. These carefully selected materials combine to create a remarkably lightweight and balanced shoe perfect for your little one, available in eleven beautiful colors.”