This giveaway has ended. Thanks to all that entered!!


I’m having major issues that my baby girl will be 3 in 5 days!! Today she dressed herself, washed her own hands, put toothpaste on her toothbrush- that she opened up- and brushed her teeth. Plus she drank out of her Siliskin Glass without spilling a drop!

Did you know that in Europe they don’t even use sippy cups? They go from the bottle to a regular cup! After reading that, I decided it’s time to get rid of the sippys. I didn’t want to just hand Ella a glass cup and say drink. So, I bought the sippy cups that have a hole on the top to teach her how to drink without sucking. Well, those didn’t work and she got more milk on her shirt than in her mouth. Then I came across Siliskin 6 oz. Glasses and these are awesome! A Siliskin Glass is a mini 6 oz glass cup that is perfect for little hands. It is wrapped in silicone, also called Siliskin, which is BPA free and non-toxic. The Siliskin is slip resistant and is very sturdy. When I say sturdy I mean that Ella threw hers on our hardwood floor and the glass didn’t shatter. Siliskins are hypo-allergenic, have no open pores to harbor bacteria, are dishwasher safe and can be boiled to sterilize.

Silicone is a great alternative to plastic and is found in lots of Eco-friendly cookware. And glass is soooo much better than any plastic. This is the best alternative for kids until they can drink from a large glass cup. Silikids also sells Siliskin bottle covers if you are bottle feeding and wanting to ditch the plastic. I wish these had been around 2 1/2 years ago! You can get the Siliskin Glass for only $7.95!

The Giveaway: Silikids would like to give 1 lucky winner a Siliskin Glass!!
Rules: You have until 11:59 p.m. EST January 30, 2010 to enter. The winner will be chosen by random.org and announced after they respond to the winning email. The winner has 48 hours to respond to the winning email, or a new winner will be chosen. You must leave your email address! This contest is open to the US

How to Enter: Tell me something else you like from Silikids. Make sure you leave your email address!! I cannot contact the winner without it!

EXTRA Entries: You must complete the “How To Enter” before making any extra entries. Make sure you leave a comment for each extra entry and tell me which one.

2. Become a fan of Mkokopelli on FB, Mkokopelli on Twitter, or Follow my blog
3. Subscribe to my blog by email (on the right sidebar) You must verify and be active at the time of the giveaway- those who are unverified will become disqualified
4. Blog, Tweet or send a message on FB and leave a link here (1 entry per day)
5. Enter another giveaway I have going on and tell me which one or leave a comment on a non-giveaway post (1 entry total)
6. Sign up for the Silikids Newsletter
7. Become a Fan of Silikids on Facebook
8. Follow Silikids on Twitter
9. Tell me something you learned on the Silikids site
10. Grab my button and post on your blog, Facebook page, or myspace page and link back in a comment


New disclaimer: I was sent this item to review from Silikids. This in NO way changes my opinions about the products or company. These are my thoughts, opinions and results.

Man, this is a sad week in the blogger world. A terrific “Green” blogger, Jennae, just found out her precious 4 year old daughter has leukemia. 😦 You might know her from Green and Gorgeous or Green Your Decor. She is an amazing blogger with fantastic taste! Luckily, (if there is such a thing in this case??) her daughter has a common childhood leukemia called A.L.L. which has a 90% cure rate. But Jennae is self employed and her husband was laid off a few months ago leaving them with no insurance. I know money is tight for everyone, but if there is anything you can do, please pass this along to help this precious family.

Here are somethings you can do to help Jennae and her family. (Copied from Green Talk)

• Check out Jennae’s linked-in site so you can learn more about her. Hire her or ask your colleagues for help. OMI, anyone who hires Jennae is darn lucky.
• Ask her to redesign your website. See her portfolio here. This is only a small smattering of what she can do. (She could use some help uploading her designs to her website. The gift of time is always appreciated.)
  

http://widget.chipin.com/widget/id/dd6d7479b88c329f

• Add the above widget to your site asking your followers to help. Just click on the “copy” button or “info” button to get directions on how to embed it in your site. I can be technically challenged, so if I can do it, so can you.
• Just in case the widget is not working, you can donate via her support page on her site. She accepts paypal.
• Consider contributing money via the widget or support page. Any amount will help.
• Advertise on Green Your Decor. She has a wonderful following with over 1700 followers. You got green. She will flaunt it.
• Help her husband become employed.
• Spread the word to help Jennae in any of the above ways.
• Offer to guest post on Green Your Decor to help keep her blog fresh and gain more followers. Contact her here.
• Also, please tweet this post or any post asking for help for Jeannae. Use the hashtags #HireJennae and #Atlanta.
• Please tweet: Need a great designer, writer, & social media maven? #HireJennae in #Atlanta See: http://ow.ly/VihP. You can use Hoot Suite to schedule periodic tweets and let it do the work.
• Stumble this post, share it on facebook, linked-in, or any other social network site. Just get the word out. (See at the bottom of my post the words, “Share This” with the funny looking symbol after the words? This is where you can share my post via email, facebook, etc. Just click on it and it will reveal several choices. As the Nike commercials say, “Just do it!”)
• Continue to support those groups such as the Environmental Working Group, who are trying to stop this chemical madness that has caused increased cancer rates, learning disabilities, JV diabetes, asthma, and a host of other illness.
• Pray for Jennae’s daughter “Mini Me” for a swift recovery. She is a little ray of sunshine that needs to help brighten our world.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Pictures are the property of Jennae, please don’t use them unless in this context!!!

Tonight I learned about a huge loss in the “Green” blogger world. I don’t know all of the details, but from what I’ve read Karissa from Prissy Green took her life. Prissy Green was one of the first blogs I subscribed to and helped inspire my mission. I loved Karissa’s wit and passionate posts. After re-reading her last posts there was no indication that she was depressed. There were no clues other than she was relocating. She had hundreds of followers and yet she still felt alone. I feel sick and wish there had been something anyone could have done. If you notice a friend or family member seeming down, try to reach out and support them. You never know what someone is truly going through.

You have to check out this awesome post by Retro Housewife Goes Green. She talks about Global Warming and climate change and I couldn’t have put it any better. She also posts this amazing video that everyone should see:

Recently I have seen many new reusable cloths that are pretty decent. They clean up big spills. They don’t mildew like sponges. They dry quickly and you can wash them more than once. All of the options have been great, especially when you’re trying to quit using paper towels. I was sent a new cloth- The Ultimate Cloth– which is amazing. It cleans without needing ANY cleaners and you can keep reusing it- guaranteed for 5 years.

The Ultimate Cloth contacted me when we were working on the townhouse. (BTW-Still on the market.. ugh) So I took the cloth over there and started cleaning the mirrors with it. I was truly impressed! The townhouse has a 8 foot mirror hanging over the fireplace and a dry bar that is completely mirrored. They both were caked with dust and other yucky stuff, but The Ultimate Cloth did the job. I am very OCD and if I see streaks it drives me nuts. The Ultimate Cloth left NO streaks at all!! You just wet the cloth, wipe and you’re done! The Ultimate Cloth isn’t for just wiping mirrors, it cleans any surface without needing any cleaners! The Ultimate Cloth got grease off a stove, marker off a table, cleaned a dirty bar and more… again without any cleaner! This has been my mom’s favorite product that I’ve tested.

Here is how it works from their site:MiraFiber™ Technology has open spaces between fibers that act as millions of tiny ‘scoops’ that pull dust, dirt, oil & other contaminants into the cloth and hold them until washed away with mild soap or detergent. (Can also be bleached for disinfection.)

I do kind of feel like their website is a infomercial that is selling you a fake product or something that has a catch, but it’s totally legit. We’ve tried using The Ultimate Cloth on everything and it cleans it with only water. We’ve had our cloth for about 2 months now and it’s still holding up.

Want to see for yourself? Go to The Ultimate Cloth and you can purchase a cloth for only $.01 plus shipping. It’s truly worth it!! You can also purchase single cloths for $6 and they sell value packs.

Thank you The Ultimate Cloth!! We’ve truly LOVED our cloth!

Disclaimer: I was sent this item to review from The Ultimate Cloth. This in NO way changes my opinions about the products or company. These are my thoughts, opinions and results.

Congrats to Danica for winning the Skin Free GC!!

Congrats to Katie for winning the Eden Fantasy GC!!

Congrats to rainmommy for winning the GetNGreen GC!!

Congrats to Laura for winning the Little Twig Giveaway!!

Congrats to Tj and Amy for winning the BARBAR ECO 8000!!!!! (Keep trying to contact Dr. Oz- if they make it on the show you still have a chance to win one!)

Congrats to clarissa@neiding.com for winning the Clean Flame logs!!

Thanks to all that entered!!! 🙂 Here are my current awesome giveaways!!

• Blue Ridge Gypsy $30 GC Ends 1/10
• Celery Street Journal Ends 1/11
• Divine Soul Healing CD (3 winners) Ends 1/16
• Green Baby Green Mama $20 GC Ends 1/22
• Belly Bandit from Baby Best Organics Ends 1/30

Want more entries???

For every review that I post, that doesn’t include a giveaway, if you leave a comment about something from their site, you can get 4 extra entries!

Also, you can now Tweet DAILY instead of just once!!

Be sure to check out other ways to get extra entries by looking on my side bars for buttons to click or other fun ways.

If you also suggest a friend to Mkokopelli through Facebook or email (CC me in the email) you can get 5 extra entries!!

I will post this under my notes on Facebook in case you forget!

Are there other ways that you’d like to earn extra entries?

This giveaway has ended. Thanks to all that entered!!

With Charlotte being the 18th largest city, you’d think people here would be more Eco-friendly and demand safer products and stores. I’m having a tough time with this lately. Not only with friends, family, and stores… but with other aspects of my community. But, luckily there is the internet and a community I can feel whole with. There are many stores with great values and morals online! And when I do find a NC company, I get really excited!!

Green Baby Green Mama started almost a year ago in Mocksville, NC. Green Baby Green Mama is a online “Green” baby store that was created when one “green” mama couldn’t find the right products for her little one. I empathize because I’m getting very frustrated at the lack of older toddler sizes for my little one! Green Baby Green Mama carries Eco-friendly food, play, wear, sleep, bathe, diaper, and cleaning products. They are all either organic, eco-friendly, fair trade, sustainable, or all of the above!

What I like about Green Baby Green Mama is that it is a simple yet stylish site. When I try to explain to my grandparents or aunts about Eco-friendly products, they look at me like I’m crazy. They sometimes get overwhelmed at the 1 stop Eco-shopping stores and give up. Green Baby Green Mama is laid out very nicely and easy for anyone to navigate. Plus they sell name brand Eco products that you love and trust!

Green Baby Green Mama sent Ella a Baby Soy 2-in-1 Vintage Peacock Tee Set.
I have to say I was soooooo excited to know that Baby Soy now makes 2-4T clothing. Baby soy was my favorite company when Ella was an infant. Their soyfiber/cotton blend is super soft and thick. I never had any issues with any of her Baby Soy clothes. I guess I better stock up since she is about to grow out of 4T and I seriously love their clothing!

The best part of the 2-in-1 Vintage shirts is that you get 2 shirts for the price of 1! I love the layered look and would have still bought it if the shirts didn’t separate. But to my surprise they did and that gives the outfit tons of other options! Right now you can get the 2-in-1 Vintage Peacock or Whale Shirt at Green Baby Green Mama for only $24.99!! Green Baby Green Mama also sells several other Baby Soy outfits from sizes 3 mo- 4T that are truly adorable!!

The Giveaway: Green Baby Green Mama would like to give 1 lucky reader a $20 gift card!!

Rules: You have until 11:59 p.m. EST January 22, 2010 to enter. The winner will be chosen by random.org and announced after they respond to the winning email. The winner has 48 hours to respond to the winning email, or a new winner will be chosen. You must leave your email address! This contest is open to the US

How to Enter: Tell another item you love from Green Baby Green Mama. Make sure you leave your email address!! I cannot contact the winner without it!

EXTRA entries: You must complete the “How To Enter” before making any extra entries. Make sure you leave a comment for each extra entry and tell me which one.

2. Become a fan of Mkokopelli on FB, Mkokopelli on Twitter, or Follow my blog
3. Subscribe to my blog by email (on the right sidebar) You must verify and be active at the time of the giveaway- those who are unverified will become disqualified
4. Blog, Tweet or send a message on FB and leave a link here (1 entry per day)
5. Enter another giveaway I have going on and tell me which one or leave a comment on a non-giveaway post (1 entry total)
6. Become a Fan of Green Baby Green Mama on Facebook
7. Follow Green Baby Green Mama on Twitter
8. Sign up for the Green Baby Green Mama Newsletter
9. Follow the Green Baby Green Mama Blog Feed
10. Grab my button




New disclaimer: I was sent this item to review from Green Baby Green Mama. This in NO way changes my opinions about the products or company. These are my thoughts, opinions and results.

I’ve teamed up with Best Baby Organics again for a dual giveaway! The entry comments left on Mkokopelli will be added to the total Best Baby Organics entries. This is their giveaway that we’re just lucky enough to get to dually host!

Here’s a new chance to win the ever popular Original Belly Bandit, the post-pregnancy compression garment that helps you shrink back to your pre-pregnancy shape.
Want to win one of these amazing belly shrinking compression bands ~ it’s Easy!
Simply visit Best Baby Organics and find three maternity, post-pregnancy, or baby products you like the most and then leave us a comment listing the three items. Don’t forget to list your email address as well, otherwise we can’t contact you in case you win. The winner will be notified by email on January 31st, 2010

To enter: Leave a comment on this post listing the three products from our Best Baby Organics that you liked most!! This is a mandatory entry!

1.Become a fan of Mkokopelli on FB, Mkokopelli on Twitter, or Follow my blog

2.Subscribe to my blog by email (on the right sidebar) You must verify and be active at the time of the giveaway- those who are unverified will become disqualified
3. Blog, Tweet or send a message on FB and leave a link here (3 extra entries total)
5. Enter another giveaway I have going on and tell me which one
6. Subscribe to Best Baby Organics (on left sidebar)
7. Subscribe to the Best Baby Organics Blog

• Anonymous comments will be ignored.

• One winner will be randomly selected.

• The deadline to enter is January 30th, 2010 Midnight EST. Winner will be announced on January 31st, 2010

• The winner will be able to choose size and color of the Belly Bandit Band. If we don’t hear from you within 7 days to claim your giveaway another winner will be chosen.

Good luck!
——————————————-
Can’t wait until the contest ends?
Pick your favorite Belly Bandit and Use Coupon Code: BAMBOOBB
during checkout to get $3.00 OFF the purchase price and FREE SHIPPING
CLICK HERE TO BUY NOW

So now that the holidays are over, I’m sure you’re like me with millions of photos waiting to be uploaded and printed. As a photographer, I have over 3,500 pictures of Ella that are just in albums. I’ve been slack since June and have piles waiting to go into books. The great thing about the digital world is saving them on the computer, but there is nothing better than holding your own print. I also used to be a avid scrapbook artist, until I started writing Mkokopelli. I wonder why…. 😉 Don’t get me wrong, my heart belongs to writing. But I now have 2 years worth of scrapping to catch up on.

I was organizing my scrap table a couple of weeks ago and got the idea to look up Eco-friendly photo albums. I found Forest City Photo Albums and the Kokopelli album stole my heart. Yes, Kokopelli is how I got my screen name and it’s not my last name! I get that a lot!Each Forest City Photo Album is handcrafted using dried tropical leaves such as lilies, recycled rice-bamboo paper, hibiscus, seashells, rope, twigs, coconut buttons, bamboo, kava, and lamtoro seed pods. All of the tropical materials used for the albums come from Bali and are created with non-endangered plants and plant parts. The albums come in small, medium and large which range from holding 20-80 pictures. Because the pages are so thick from the plant material, you wouldn’t want more than 80 photographs. The book is built to last but adding too much bulk could damage the plants and binding. These are great albums for special occasions like trips to the beach, night out with friends, holidays and vacations!

Forest City Photo Albums sent me the Diamond album to review and it’s awesome.I love the unique designs of the leaves! This has been a great coffee table conversation starter and since it matches my personality, I kept it for me. 🙂 The small album has 20 pages designed for 20 4×6 prints. You can use rope slots to hold the 4×6 prints or you can glue a 5×7 picture to the paper.

As I was cleaning out my storage room last weekend, I came across an album that is similar to the Forest City Photo Albums. It is made out of leaves, sand, twigs and rope, but it has Panama City sewn into the cover. Since I was crafty 2 years ago, I turned the album into a nifty scrapbook for Ella’s first (and only) vacation! I thought I’d share a few pages. The first page, if you look behind the tickets, you can see what a blank page looks like…

http://w62.photobucket.com/pbwidget.swf?pbwurl=http://w62.photobucket.com/albums/h101/mkokopelli/Panama%20Scrap/1809e2b6.pbw

If you don’t have all of the embellishments, just adding fun stickers, ribbons, note tags, or even leaving it blank works! The book is truly beautiful and much different than the ugly fabric acid pages books.

You can purchase these earth friendly albums from Forest City Photo Albums for $16-$30 depending upon the sizes. Forest City Photo Albums tried to work out a coupon deal, and came up with a 50% off shipping! All you do is enter mkoko in the coupon code at the check out!

If you go to Forest City Photo Albums and leave a comment here with your favorite album, you can get 4 extra entries to ANY giveaway going on in January!!

New disclaimer: I was sent this items to review from Forest City Photo Albums. This is NO way changes my opinions about the products or company. These are my thoughts, opinions and results.