Sikulu and Harambe

Following two lovable characters, Sikulu the spider and Harambe the hippo, as they travel throughout Africa, this first tale is a rich and engaging adaptation of the Parable of the Good Samaritan that illustrates and encourages children's appreciation for kindness and consideration.

In this timeless adventure, Sikulu & Harambe find themselves in the village of Sioma in Zambia where they encounter an old woman in need of help. While the other animals in the village create excuses to avoid helping the woman, Sikulu and Harambe step in and give aid while also helping Sikulu face his fear of water.

Based on a traditional folktale, the story reinforces the beauty of kindness to strangers, while also illustrating the concept that sometimes it is necessary to overcome personal challenges to provide an act of compassion.

"In the African culture, many life lessons and moral values are passed down in the form of folktales. Living in modern America, our children are often devoid of that experience. Through this story, it is my vision that children learn and enjoy the gift of storytelling, all the while learning to move outside their 'comfort zone' and aspire to be good 'neighbors' in the greater sense," declares Author Kunle Oguneye.

The book concludes with a discussion of the moral of the story and a glossary of words, names and places within the narrative and information about Zambia and its culture.

Sikulu & Harambe: By the Zambezi River retails for $14.95, and may be purchased at Sikulu , Amazon.com and at bookstores worldwide

Aden and Anais

Muslin is a unique cotton fabric first introduced into England in the late 17th century. Muslin has a light, open weave that allows air to flow seamlessly through the material. The soft natural fibers allow your baby's body temperature to adjust naturally, eliminating over-heating, but ensuring warmth and comfort. aden + anais wraps will allow you to safely swaddle your baby, giving you confidence that your baby will experience a peaceful and secure sleep.
These swaddle wraps are adored by some of Hollywood's biggest stars! Tori Spelling, Naomi Watts, Julia Roberts, Isla Fisher and Jaime Presley all love these blankets. The blankets are really soft and you can use them for many things. To cover your stroller, as a tummy time blanket, you could even use it in the park for baby to have tummy time outside. Go check out the site, you will want to order these blankets.

Wordless Wednesday

This was Kayla's first day yesterday. She is hugging Samantha who is MommyMandy's daughter. Amanda and I are friends from way back and now our daughters are!

Preggie Pops and Queasy Kids

I wish that when I was pregnant with either of my kids I had Preggie Pops and Preggie Drops. I get morning sickness really bad and I have heard wonderful things about these products.

What are Preggie Pops?
Preggie Pops are naturally flavored and specially formulated lollipops made for pregnant women. For generations, women have sought out certain natural therapies to ease morning sickness. As health care professionals, we have developed a solution: convenient, delicious, high quality and all natural lollipops. Preggie Pops offer relief via a combination of essential oils, aromatherapy and our unique delivery system. In addition, our Preggie Pops alleviate dry mouth, provide quick calories and energy during labor, and are an overall soothing and comforting way to address the needs of pregnant women. Preggie Pops are also drug free and healthcare provider recommended.

Queasy Pop
Developed by healthcare professionals to provide relief from the queasy stomach associated with motion sickness and chemotherapy. Queasy Pops are effective due to our special formulation of essential oils from natural herbs and aromatherapy, in combination with our unique delivery method. Our ongoing empirical and anecdotal research to improve and develop our unique flavors has proved satisfying for our many customers. Queasy Pops also alleviate dry mouth, provide quick calories for a nice energy boost and are overall very soothing and comforting.

7th Generation

7th Generation is one of the country's first self-declared "socially responsible" companies, Seventh Generation is a business that operates according to a new and different set of principles and values that in many ways are a marked departure from those long considered "traditional." Its business practice is focused on offering people avenues to express their idealism, passion, and commitment to causes larger than themselves at every point along its supply chain—from suppliers and partners to shareholders, customers and its own staff.
The company derives its name from the Great Law of the Iroquois that states, "In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations." Every time you use a Seventh Generation product you are making a difference by saving natural resources, reducing pollution, keeping toxic chemicals out of the environment and making the world a safer place for this and the next seven generations.
Seventh Generation brand-name products include: non-chlorine bleached, 100% recycled paper towels, bathroom and facial tissues, and napkins; non-toxic, phosphate-free cleaning, dish and laundry products; plastic trash bags made from recycled plastic; chlorine-free baby diapers, training pants, and baby wipes; and chlorine-free feminine care products, including organic cotton tampons.
I was so excited to try out 7th Generations products. I try to be a "green" as possible and I was thrilled to do more to keep our environment as clean as possible.
The kitchen cleaner smells awesome and it works well. It effectively cleans and degreases hard surfaces both inside and outside your home. Excellent for wet mopping.
The shower cleaner surprised me as well. It is ideal for preventing soap scum buildup in your shower caused by mold and mildew. Use daily for best results.
So if you want to help make a difference try to use eco- friendly products. Go to 7th Generations website and check out their stuff.

Funky Monkey Snacks

Funky Monkey Snacks announces the introduction of fruit that crunches! Funky Monkey Snacks are all natural with no added sugar, preservatives, colors or flavors. In addition, they are gluten free, wheat - free, dairy - free and are certified kosher parve.
The four flavors are:

Bananamon (banana and cinnamon)
Carnival mix (banana, pineapple, apple, papaya and raisins)
Jivealime (pineapple and lime juice) and
Purple Funk (banana and acai - pronounced ah-sigh-EE)

Acai, a berry from the Brazilian rain forest, is considered to be one of nature's true super foods and is loaded with antioxidants, amino acids, essential omegas, fibers and protein.

These snacks are so good! My personal favorite was the "Carnival Mix," I loved the pineapples in there. They were so good. My kids seemed to favor the "Purple Funk," those snacks were gone in about 20 minutes! They loved them a lot. I felt good giving them the Funky Monkey Snacks because they are not covered in preservatives. They are in fact freeze dried in a process that uses whole slices and large pieces of fruit. This process in any other snack available in the U.S. and it removes approximately 97% of the moisture content of the fruit, providing a crisp, crunchy texture. In contrast, most freeze dried fruit in the U.S. uses dices or small pieces of fruit and a different process, resulting in a chewier, rubbery texture and less flavor.

Wild Dill

Wild Dill makes only natural, organic, fair trade, made in the USA/Europe, or recycled clothing, toys, bedding and furniture for babies and toddlers. Kayla and James got to try out the "Imagination Box Cottage." They were super excited when it came and I hurried to put it together. They are in love with it, there are many toys that live in there now. I love the fact that my kids are playing with something that is natural and can be recycled when we are done. Go check out their stuff, you won't be disappointed.

My Bag and Me

"My Bag and Me" is a children's book designed with an earth friendly focus to help reduce the use of plastic and paper bags. It comes with a reusable tote bag that is meant to engage the children in the meaning of the story. Help save the planet one bag at a time! Teach your child to be eco-friendly and conserve the Earth's precious resources! It's never too early to learn the importance of reducing, reusing, and recycling.

My Bag & Me follows a child and his reusable shopping bag on a trip to the grocery store. By the end of the story, your child will say "Paper and plastic no more!"
Kayla plays with her bag everyday, and we have started recycling cans and bottles.

The Taffy Box

The Taffy Box is a jewelry line that is just darling. It is hand stamped jewelry that is made to order. The woman behind it all is named Koryn and she is full of talent. Just look at the necklace that she made for me!


On her website she says: "I hope you'll enjoy my jewelry as much as I enjoy designing and making it. I use sterling silver or gold filled earwires or posts unless otherwise stated. If you need nickle free or another type of earring like lever backs, just let me know and I will try my best to convert them for you. I love to do custom orders so let me know if you have something sweet in mind and we'll work together!"

Would you like to win a "Hand Stamped Pendant Charm"



If you would like to win a pendant like this with your child's name or any name that you choose, just leave a comment telling me your favorite candy.

Giveaway ends on August 29.

Please remember to leave a valid e-mail address!

Best Bows in the Blogsphere

Amanda (Gabby Chick) has opened her own bow boutique. They are absolutely adorable and you should definitely check out her site. Her site is brand new and she has been adding new bows everyday.







http://purelygirliebowtique.blogspot.com/

Ok my cat has a problem

I just went outside to take the trash out and I happened to look at the ground and I saw a chipmunk tail. I paused and looked around only to see 3 more!!!! Um yeah my cat is a chipmunk-aholic. She needs to find something else to consume, preferably something that she can eat without leaving evidence.

Creative Changes

I thought that my kids were pretty un-trainable when it came to chores. When I received my new chore chart in the mail I was still a skeptic. I opened up the child's job chart and wrote their names on the charts. I then explained that they would get a sticker for every chore that they did, and then at the end of the week they would be able to pick out a special prize at the store. Kayla immediately wanted to know what she could do first, so I told her to go and pick up all of her toys. To my surprise she went and did it (James even helped). Thanks to this chore chart I no longer have to fight with Kayla about brushing her hair, and she happily lets me brush her teeth.

The Child's Job Chart Kit comes with 1 Job chart, a whole sheet of reusable rainbow stickers, and a black wipe off crayon. This chart is a simple idea and it makes a huge difference. My kids are actually excited to help (my kids!).

And the winner is.....

Sarcastic Mom (aka Lotus)! Congratulations you get your own set of MomSpit!
Thank you to all that entered, it was my first giveaway and it means a lot to me that you took the time to tell me your funny stories.

Wordless Wednesday

Handstand Kids

This kiddie cook book is so much fun. When mine arrived in the mail, my kids could not wait to put on the little oven mitt that was included and they wanted to look at the book. I opened it up and was pleasantly surprised that they had a whole page of utensils that were in English and Spanish, and a whole page of ingredients that were translated as well. . I figured that we could make something so I looked through the recipes and figured that the apple taquitos sounded the best. It had a list of the ingredients and all of the utensils that we would need. The kids had so much fun being involved and they had even more fun eating the final product!

Handstand kids cookbooks are the perfect recipe for kids to learn how to cook, while discovering the people, places, and language of a new country. The second Handstand Kids cookbook in the series travels to Mexico to make delicious and nutritious Mexican recipes. Each book comes with an oven mitt, packaged in a tortilla bag.

Kids will learn how to cook simple, yet delicious Mexican dishes, while learning about the vibrant Mexican culture. Each book is packaged in a tortilla bag with an oven mitt. "Ingredients and utensils are translated in the intro so kid chefs get to learn Spanish," Handstand Kids Founder Yvette Garfield told TDmonthly

The Handstand Kids Mexican Cookbook was just named2008 Award WINNERS for Top Toy of the Year!

MomSpit Giveaway

Would you like to win your own set of MomSpit? The winner will recieve 3 2 oz. bottles. All you have to do is tell me a cute story about a time that your little one made a BIG mess.

Contest ends August 13.

Bloggy makeover!

Please don't mind the mess, I am having a blog make over! YAY!!

Amanda from www.mommymandy.com is making for me. If you want a bloggy make over you can contact HERE

Chipmunks

I live in the Southern California Mountains and wild animals are something I see everyday. Not bears or anything like that (though we do have a big mama bear that gets in our trash almost nightly, and she brings her babies.) But I try to save whatever my cat is trying to eat. I know she must hate me for it, I can see it in her face when she looks at me with her eyes almost completely shut. Like I am not worthy of open eyes. So just now I saw her pounce on something outside and I realized that she was trying to get a chipmunk! They are really very cute. So I ran outside and cautiously walked up to her. See she has been known to look right at me and crunch down on the poor things. She dropped it and it ran and she ran, but the chipmunk was faster. She is now in the house and she is not very happy. That makes 4 that I have saved this year!

My children can fly

Or so they think. For the past week or so, they have been jumping off anything that they can climb on and they jump off. They then come to me and tell me that they didn't fly that time because they didn't flap their wings hard enough. I guess maybe I should explain to them that they in fact cannot fly, but seeing their little imaginations at work makes me smile.

Wordless Wednesday

This is the view from my house. With all the hot weather we have been having, I am missing the snow.

Mommies United

Come and join in on all the fun!! Mommies United is having an entire week dedicated to that one day the kiddos go back to school!

Plus the prizes... Yes there will be prizes to win, to get your little one started with school shopping. From educational, to clothing there are some great things to win. Just in time for school to begin, so stop by and join the fun!

MomSpit

Mom Spit. ... Inspired by the original! Every time I hear that I laugh! The first time I heard of mom spit I had absolutely no idea what it was. But I kept hearing more and more about it and thought "OK I have to try this stuff out" Last week I received my mom spit and it is amazing! The perfect test subject (Kayla) walked in from playing outside and I asked her to give me her hands. I put a little squirt, about the size of a quarter on her hand, she rubbed them together and her hands were all clean. And they smelled really good too.

A little story behind Mom Spit-

We're betting everyone has had a Mom use spit to clean his or her face or anything else that required polishing in a pinch. After all, a sink sure wasn't in proximity every time someone needed one. –That's the original 'mom spit'. We all thought its inevitable and frequent use was disgusting, and could only smile fondly as history repeated itself when we started using our own spit with our own children or a dirt spot on our patent leather pumps.

Enter MomSpit - inspired by the original. Our MomSpit is made with love in every drop. MomSpit personal care cleansers are premium, user-friendly and infused with fresh and gentle scents. They're pH balanced, biodegradable and contain no human saliva, 'cause that would just be gross.

Please refill or recycle your MomSpit containers.

MomSpit – inspired by the original.