I think it’s important to have wakening moments that remind us to be grateful for what we have because it all could be gone in a minute or it could have never happened at all.

My Left to Write book club book this month was Signs of Life by Natalie Taylor. In short, the book is memoir about a young women whose husband dies tragically when she is 5 months pregnant. It is about her journey through grief and being a single mom.

There are several moments throughout the book that Natalie talks about being in the moment and being happy with what you have. So many of us get caught up in life and forget about the important things and how lucky we are. Before Natalie gives birth she has a moment, “As I go through my hospital bag over and over again, I think about how not every woman in this world gets to pack her hospital bag in preparation for childbirth. Not every woman gets to watch her body transform over the course of forty weeks an create new life. I remind myself not to overlook that fact.”

Those lines really stuck out for me. I’ve had 6 miscarriages over the past 10 years. It’s fair to say that E is truly my miracle baby. As much as I wish I relished this fact and felt like the luckiest mom ever, the past year (or 3) has been really hard since she was diagnosed with PDD. It seems her meltdowns have gotten worse when things don’t go the way she has them in her mind. Which usually leads to me melting down with her. We’ve been going to therapy to work on how to cope, but it’s hard because she’s so bright and gets it… until she’s in the moment of a meltdown.

But over the past several weeks, since I began reading Signs of Life, I’ve been reminded she is all that I have ever wanted. I need to cherish every second of her life, every good and bad moment of parenthood because there are so many out there who don’t get to experience this. Sure, she’s not perfect and has quirks and loud fits which can be embarrassing- especially in stores or at restaurants- but I love every bit of her. Maybe I shouldn’t say embarrassing- but the stares from other people who don’t understand what is going on always shakes me up.

Being in the moment and thinking about how lucky I am has helped me work through the meltdowns instead of getting tense. Sometimes, we just need that reminder that everyone has something and we should be lucky for what we have.

*During the fifth month of pregnancy with her first child, Natalie Taylor was devastated by the sudden death of her husband. Her journey with grief is chronicled in the memoir Signs of Life. Join From Left to Write on March 29 as we discuss Signs of Life by Natalie Taylor. As a member of From Left to Write, I received a copy of the book. All opinions are my own.

Nohi Kids just released their new Spring line and they are super cute!! If you haven’t heard about Nohi Kids, there were recently nominated for a Crisbie Award for the Up and Coming Brand to Watch! They announce the winners on April 2. Good luck Nohi Kids!!

Nohi Kids has adorable eco-clothes for infants-7/8 yrs. Their clothes are made out of a organic cotton bamboo blend, with a touch of lycra. E breaks out in hives when wearing clothing with high levels of lycra, and Nohi Kids doesn’t bother her at all.  The graphics are printed with a water based dye.

Nohi Kids sent us the girls Flock dress in the 7/8 size.

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We make homemade ice pops every Sunday for the week. I thought I’d share one of our favorite new recipes 🙂

{this moment}

A Friday ritual inspired by SouleMama. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you’re inspired to do the same, leave a link to your ‘moment’ in the comments for all to find and see.

Yes, Miss E has been using the potty for a couple of years now. But I’ve been working with an amazing PR company and had the chance to talk about Jahgoo. All Jahgoo products are BPA-free, Phthalates-free, Cadmium-free and their product material is 100% PP (Polypropelene). The soft rubber is TPR (thermo plastic rubber).

Jahgoo was created out of the need for hip bath baby gear. Dutch entrepreneur, Hans Pompen didn’t want his bathroom cluttered with “outdated space-hogging eyesores crying out for a redesign,” so he came up with the Jahgoo Collection which includes:

• 3-in-1: Potty. Toilet Seat. Step Stool
• Bath
• Step Stool
• Bath Support
• Potty
• Toilet Seat Reducer
• Toilet Paper Holder

Jahgoo won the 2011/2012 Practical Parenting & Pregnancy Awards Bathtime Product Category-Gold award. Jahgoo products range from $10-$30 and can be found online at www.kastelinternational.com I love how the company got its name: “When bathing your children, the bathroom turns into a jungle. Screaming monkeys and a lot of mess. The tub looks like a jacuzzi with bubbles and kids splashing water everywhere. Lastly, baby’s first words sound like goo-goo. Well, throw jungle, jacuzzi and goo-goo into the blender and you get Jahgoo!”

I was sent the 3-1 Training Potty to review and it’s pretty neat. The ergonomically designed potty can be used in 3 stages- a training potty, toilet seat, and then step stool. The reservoir is easy to remove for cleaning. It is designed for both girls and boys. After your child is done potty training, the seat can be removed and used on a regular sized toilet. Your child can also use the stool to get on and off the toilet. Once they have graduated to a full sized potty, the step stool can be used by kids or adults for hard to reach places. You can get the 3-1 Training Potty for $29.99 in white or lime.

Be sure to sign up to “like” Jahgoo on Facebook at www.facebook.com/jahgoo for news of special promotions, new product introductions and more!

Want potty training tips? Keep reading!

I spent over a year potty training my daughter. Yes, that’s a long time- so I can tell you everything that I did wrong so you can avoid my mistakes!

My biggest mistake was spending too much money on useless training pants. I purchased multiple Gerber organic training pants and they leaked majorly. So we went for the Pull-Up style. These are diapers disguised as trainers- and my kiddo wasn’t fooled. I then purchased training pants from a cloth diaper company, which worked really well. They looked like panties but had layers of microterry and PUL that stopped leaks- which is great for when you leave the house!

And don’t get me started on the gimmicky potty’s that sing. My daughter just wanted to play with them, and that’s gross. Go for a simple potty, like the 3-in-1 that is easy to use without the bells and whistles. The step stool really does come in handy!

I also tried the John Rosemond Naked and $75 Method. His message to kick potty training in the butt motivated me to get on it. So my daughter ran around naked from the waist down for a week. She had no accidents and would sit on the potty when she needed to. But, then came the problem when she wasn’t naked. We are an active family and needed to get out of the house. Our first trip out of the house- epic failure. So we were back to the training pants.

I then got the book Potty Training in One Day. This is something I should have read before beginning this process. It focuses on using dolls for your child to teach the doll how to use the potty so they learn together. It also has great tips like create the “Big Day” to explain to your child what is expected of them during this process. I loved the consequence if they have an accident to take them back to the potty 10 times in a row to show them what is expected.

So we had a potty party (the big day) and for some reason- that worked. We had dolls show up who wanted to learn how to potty. My daughter taught them how to “potty like a rockstar” and enjoyed the cake, drinks, and balloons that went along with her party. Luckily, we’ve only had a few accidents since that monumental day.

Giveaway: Jahgoo would like to give 1 lucky winner a 3-1 Training Potty!

Click read more to enter!

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The Lorax is one of my favorite Dr. Suess books and I’ve been anxiously awaiting for the movie to come out. After seeing some of the sponsors, I was nervous they were going to butcher the film. If you aren’t aware, for the past several weeks there has been a big fuss about some of the “carefully chosen” 70 companies and non-profits sponsoring the film. It was even labeled- #Loraxwashing. Some of the worst offenders were Mazda’s new SUV, IHOP’s sprinkle pancakes and green eggs and ham (food dyes are sooo not eco!), HP with FSC-paper (why not 100% recycled, the movie is about saving trees!), Seventh Generation’s disposable diapers, and Pottery Barn Kids. 

Since I’m a YoGetter, Stonyfield sent us to see The Lorax on Saturday- and a bunch of Charlotte mom bloggers got to join us!

Before the movie, we all ate some yummy YoKids Greek and the adults had the Chocolate and Caramel Greek.

Stonyfield also gave away some coloring books, crayons, tattoos, and a copy of The Lorax and coloring book to E for the party! Here are the kids before the movie: 

Now on to the movie… 

I was very pleased with the film. It was funny yet serious. I loved how they mocked bottled water with bottled air, because “people will buy it if it’s in a bottle.” Even if it’s free. My favorite part of the movie was the musical number, How Bad Can I Be. Yes, there are musical numbers throughout the movie. You can listen to the song below, it’s pretty funny. 

I felt like the movie stayed true to the book. I loved the characters, the animation was beautiful, there was the right amount of humor, and I enjoyed the hidden messages. E loved it and wanted to plant a tree when we got home. She said her favorite part is when they plant the seed. 🙂 So Sunday we spent the day planting seeds to sprout for our garden. I also have been rooting potatoes, avocados, and garlic. The garlic is pictured below

Giveaway: Stonyfield wants to give 1 lucky winner A Lorax/YoKids -themed gift box including the following:

The plus side to working from home is that I can spend all day in my PJs… ok at least half the day. 🙂 I rarely buy new clothing, but when I do, I like to purchase organic so I don’t help support conventional cotton farming. Did you know that there are over 355,000 deaths per year from unintentional poisonings linked to chemicals like pesticides? That is a scary statistic!

I have always loved cute tees with funny sayings. So when I saw the Eco Moms Rock shirt by My Eco Girls, I knew I had to have it. (Eco Moms is actually written in pink- bad lighting!)

GIVEAWAY: Enter to win a eco Tee of your choice from My Eco Girls! Click Read More to be taken to the Rafflecopter entry form

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{this moment}

I was contacted by NOVICA, associated with National Geographic, about hosting a giveaway. After spending hours on their site, there was no way I could resist! NOVICA is a fair trade artisan site where people around the world can sell their unique gifts. You can find sterling silver jewelry from India, glass from Mexico, rugs from the Andes, masks from Africa, and much much more!

I chose 2 things from NOVICA because I couldn’t decide on just 1. After looking through thousands of necklaces, rings, earrings, and bracelets I found a Kokopelli necklace from India by Bhavesh. Kokopelli has always been my good luck charm, and it only felt right to review something Kokopelli on Mkokopelli 🙂

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