This Moment

{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.



Graco Snugride Click Connect 40 #GracoSafety


Last week I got to attend a #GracoSafety home party where we received an amazing demonstration given by my BabyElan {daily} editor Dana and we were each given the new Graco Snugride Click Connect 40 car seat! We were joined by 14 other wonderful local bloggers, served some amazing local food, and had a blast learning about the new Graco car seat.
The Snugride Click Connect 40 is the first infant car seat that can remain rear facing for up to 2 years and up to 40 lbs. Did you know that toddlers are more than 5 times safer riding rear facing? Last year the AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) changed the recommendation that children should remain rear facing until they are 2 years old.
In 2007, a study showed that children under 2 were 75% less likely to die or be severely injured in a crash if they were rear facing. This has proven to be difficult for many parents and children since the most common complain is comfort and leg room, so they change to forward facing sooner.

The new Graco Snugride Click Connect has 8 reclining positions that provide optimal comfort and they are easy to adjust for your growing child. The Snugride has the most legroom of any rear facing car seat available. I love the adjustable footrest to prevent your child from kicking the seat. There is even a level indicator on the base that tells you if your child is in the correct reclining position for their age.

The SnugRide Click Connect 40 has a Simply Safe Adjust harness system that allows parents to adjust the harness and headrest with just one hand to fit their baby’s height as their baby grows without having to rethread the harness. The car seat has a Click Connect attachment which allows parents to easily transition their babies from the car seat to the stoller with just 1 click. The new Graco strollers all come with the Click Connect feature so you no longer have to worry about your car seat not being properly attached to the stroller.

The Snugride Click Connect 40 has been side impact tested and gone through rigorous crash testing. It is also made with EPS, a energy absorbing foam for effective impact energy management.

The Snugride Click Connect 40 is for children 4-40 pounds and up to 35 inches in height. It retails for $219.99 and can be purchased at Babies R Us or Toys R Us.

I can’t wait to try it out once baby boy gets here! I love the Moonstruck pattern. And the girls style, Mena is just as gorgeous! I feel Graco has definitely stepped it up a notch with this car seat in terms of safety plus it’s innovative design. Be sure to check out their website and see the videos of the new SnugRide Click Connect 40!!

The Graco SnugRide® Click Connect™ 40 – the first and only newborn to two-year infant car seat that actually grows with your baby from four pounds all the way up to 40 pounds. The car seat is designed for a parent on the go. The infant car seat can be easily removed from the base and used as a carrier when the infant is small, providing portability and convenience so you can easily move your infant in and out of the car without disturbing them. The American Academy of Pediatrics recently made the recommendation to keep all children in rear-facing car seats until the age of 2. Graco set out to make this product so parents can keep infants rear facing longer while still keeping them comfortable. This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Graco. The opinions and text are all mine.

Why Hello

Yes, the past 9 months have flown by and I’ve neglected my blog yet again. I’m sorry and wil try to do a better job!!! At least this time I have a good reason! 🙂 Baby K should be here within the next 1-3 weeks and I’ve been busy preparing for his arrival. Miss E has been doing wonderful in Kindergarten, though it has been a part time job in itself taking her to and from school, volunteering, and being the room mom. Yeah, I didn’t think that one through so well! 
But, the most time consuming things have been working with Inhabitots, BabyElan {daily}, MomsCharlotte and The Baby Grocery Store. If you are in Charlotte, you must stop by The Baby Grocery Store the week of Nov. 5 for their grand opening!! It will be amazing! So, if you’ve missed Mkokopelli’s awesome content, check out the other sites I’ve been working with! There have been some exciting things going on. 🙂 
Hope you all are doing well!! 
XOXO Michelle

Become a Stonyfield Food Superhero & Win a $50 Wholefoods Gift Card

Stonyfield is at it again! First they wanted to Know Your Fridge and now part of the Know Your Food campaign they want to know your food superhero powers! Food Superheros is a light-hearted and interactive campaign inviting food lovers to transform themselves into superheroes by showing off their powers to support a healthy, sustainable food system through the small actions they take each day. 

For every Food Superhero profile created, Stonyfield will donate $1 to FoodCorps, a national nonprofit organization that addresses childhood health through food by working directly in schools in limited-resource communities. So far Stonyfield has collected over $1350!! 

All you have to do is visit www.iWillKnowMyFood.com and assume a Food Superhero persona with superpowers. I am now The Sweetitude Cultivator– making food choices to protect the little guy. Or little girl for that matter! E has also joined my superhero food crime fighting team and enjoys teaching others about harmful food dyes.

To become a Food Superhero you must know your food and make food choices that protect your health, family farmers, animals, and the planet. Check out the Know Your Food website to learn more about what’s in your food and why it matters!

Stonyfield has teamed up with Wholefoods to offer Yo Getters a chance to give one of their lucky readers a $50 giftcard to Wholefoods so you can purchase the foods that make you a superhero, PLUS a Food Superhero cape, a free 6 oz. Stonyfield coupon, and some temporary tattoos!

Giveaway: Enter on the Rafflecopter form! Giveaway ends August 3, 2012. a Rafflecopter giveaway//d12vno17mo87cx.cloudfront.net/embed/rafl/cptr.js

This Moment


{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.


Tropical Traditions Palm Shortening

I am a huge fan of Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil. We have been frying with it, baking and substituting butter and oils, and using it as a coating. I’ve been using it so much while baking, I’ve been wanting to ration it for other uses- esp frying. Tropical Traditions recommended that I try their Organic Palm Shortening, so they sent me a gallon to review.

 Palm Shortening is derived from palm oil with most of the unsaturated fat being removed giving it a firm texture with high melting point. Palm Shortening is trans-fat free and is not hydrogenisedThe Topical Traditions Palm Shortening comes in a gallon or 33 pound size. It has a long shelf life and does not spoil. You can use it for baking, frying, deep frying, shortening, and margarine’s. 
Palm Shortening does have 6g of saturated fat which has been considered a bad fat for many years. The thing is there hasn’t been any proof that saturated fat can cause heart disease or put you at risk for a heart attack. In fact, many nutritionists who argue this theory don’t take into consideration that other countries eat mainly a saturated fat diet and have no heart disease.  Here is a great article going into detail about saturated fat and why its not really that bad for you. You do however want to avoid hydrogenated oils and trans fatty oils. I like that there is 0 cholesterol in the Palm Shortening and it is only 110 calories.
E enjoys her vegetables raw or fried. Zucchini is one of my personal favs and neither of us enjoy the raw texture. So I decided to use the organic Palm Shortening and make some zucchini chips for dinner. Check out how they turned out!

 

 

 

We used a panko/all purpose flour breading. They only took 7 minutes to cook over medium heat and were super crispy! The oil heated quickly and didn’t burn when cooked over medium heat. There was no added taste unlike the coconut oil. I’ve really enjoyed cooking with the Palm Shortening!
You can get the gallon size Palm Shortening for $40.75 and it is currently on sale for $30.65! Be sure to sign up for their newsletter so you can get the latest deals.
*I was sent the product to review for free and under no obligation. These are my thoughts, results, and opinions.

This Moment

{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.

ManPans Loaf Pan

We’ve had our Large MansPans Loaf Pan (part of their eco-friendly bakeware line) for a little over a month now and I’m in love! All of the bread recipes I make are usually for 2 loaves. Sometimes I’ll make 2 and give to a friend or we will freeze a loaf. But with the ManPans Loaf Pan, it all fits into 1 without adding a longer bake time!

The Large Loaf Pan is 10″ by 5″ by 3″ deep. It has tapered sides for easy lifting in and out of the oven. The pan is made out of heavy .063 (14 ga.) aluminum, it’s commercial quality, PTFE free, water-based release coating: Gem-X2, super easy clean up, and is heat safe to 700 degrees fahrenheit.
The easy grip rim is awesome for the weight of the pan. It’s not super heavy, but heavier than a usual bread pan. I’m a klutz and have dropped bread pans before spilling batter everywhere. So this feature was one of my favs. The 1.5lb loaf size is my absolute fav feature. There is nothing better than a pound and a half of organic zucchini bread!! 🙂
You can get a Large ManPans Loaf Pan for only $24.99 or the smaller Loaf Pan for $21.99. 
ManPans uses .080 aluminum that is is coated with Gem-X2. Not only are the pans non-toxic they are manufactured in a eco-friendly way. You can read more about that here. The Gem-X2 release coating is water-based, and is 100% PTFE free and free from any fluoropolymer coatings. The coating will not scratch or flake off into your food.
 
All ManPans are:
  • Made in the USA
  • Non-toxic and stick resistant surface
  • Durable and metal utensil safe
  • Green, Eco-friendly Manufacturing
  • Guaranteed: 30-day money back and limited lifetime warranty
 
*Thank you ManPans for sending me a Loaf Pan to review!! This is no way changes my opinions of the items. I have loved everything I’ve tried thus far. 🙂 
 

Carowinds Boomerang Bay

Carowinds opened their 20-acre waterpark, Boomerang Bay, last weekend and we got to check it out this week! I chose to go on Tuesday since I knew the kids were still in school and I figured it would be less crowded which is a plus for 2 kiddos with sensory processing disorder. We chose the most perfect day! (Hurry if you want to beat the crowd, CMS gets out June 8!)
Boomerang Bay, built in 1982, has grown to 13 attractions, with 5 water slides, 3 younger children areas, 2 wave pools, and 1 resort style pool. And somehow we managed to try everything out (minus 3 of the big slides) plus ride some rides in the park all in 7 hours!
When we arrived, I let E ride some of the kids rides in Planet Snoopy. After an hour in the kid park, we headed to Boomerang Bay for some water fun. I love that the younger kids (E is 5) can ride most of the water slides and can hang in all of the pools as long as they are wearing a life jacket. 
E’s favorite was the Platypus Plunge water slide since she could go down the 125-foot chute in a 2 person raft without an adult. I think it was the whole independence thing. She also loved the 564-foot slide Down Under Thunder that seats a family of 4. My favorite was the more relaxing Crocodile Run river which runs down both North Carolina and South Carolina. E also loved the wave pool and kept wanting to go to the deep end. 
The chlorine levels weren’t too high that we left with stinging red eyes, which was very nice! All in all we had a relaxing time in Boomerang Bay while the kids played. The 3 children areas have about 4 inches of standing water, some areas have none, so there isn’t a way your child can go under water. So the kids had more free reign than usual. There were life guards at every ride/attraction, which put us even more at ease. We of course had our eyes on them at all times, but we didn’t feel the need to be within arms reach. In the larger pools, children are required to wear life jackets, even if they are in the shallow end. But it was nice to get cooled off in the 80 degree heat. 
I really liked that there were lockers in several areas of the waterpark to store your valuables while you are playing. It’s kind of hard to go down a water slide with a wallet in your bathing suit! There are also changing areas and bathrooms all over the waterpark so you don’t have to wear your bathing suit throughout the park. Boomerang Bay is open from 11 a.m.- 5 p.m. They make an announcement before they close so you can claim your things in your locker. 
Carowinds is located at 14523 Carowinds Blvd., Charlotte, NC 28273 They are operating on Spring hours, so be sure to check out their website to get the times and to get the best deals on tickets. If you live in the Charlotte area, I recommend getting a season pass to enjoy both parks all summer long. It is really worth the investment!

*Carowinds gave us free admission to the park for review. This in no way alters my opinion. These are my thoughts, results, views. 

Stonyfield & Tom’s of Maine Giveaway

May is National Strawberry Month so Stonyfield YoKids teamed up with Tom’s of Maine on Strawberry flavored goodies to give out to the Yo Getters & their fans! Also, until June 4, each tube of children’s toothpaste purchased on the Toms’ of Maine website will come with an on-pack coupon for $1 off YoKids Greek organic yogurt! You can also save 20% on your entire order with the coupon code: YOKIDS20!

I was sent a YoKids lunch sack filled with several Tom’s of Maine products including a full 4.2oz tube of Silly Strawberry children’s toothpaste, as well as samples of their Naturally Dry deodorant and Daily Moisture soap. The bag also includes FREE YoKids and YoKids Greek coupons, YoKids temporary tattoos, and YoKids Strawberry-flavored Eco Lips chapstick.

Of course my favorite was the coupons for FREE Stonyfield YoKids and YoKids Greek Yogurt. We are hooked on Greek yogurt and E loves the YoKids Greek raspberry and strawberry. As the only organic Greek yogurt for kids, YoKids Greek provides families a quality product produced without the use of toxic persistent pesticides, antibiotics, growth hormones, genetically engineered ingredients, or artificial flavors, colors, or sweeteners. It’s also thick and creamy, packed with 6 grams of protein, and is an excellent source of calcium!

I really liked the Tom’s of Maine new Naturally Dry deodorant, but was sad when I read it contained aluminum chlorohydrate and hydronated soybean oil (over 90% of soy is GMO). So I’m going to skip using it. We did like the Fluoride-free Silly Strawberry Toothpaste which is made with: Glycerin, water, calcium carbonate, hydrated silica, fruit extracts, carrageenan, sodium lauryl sulfate. The Tom’s Daily Moisture bar is made with: Sodium palmate, sodium cocoate, sodium palm kernelate, water, glycerine, natural fragrance, sodium chloride, olive oil, jojoba oil, tocopheryl acetate. It comes in a trail size.

Be sure to checkout the Stonyfield Tales from the Bib contest going on for the chance to win a $1,000 spa or wellness center near you, plus great prizes from Earth Mama Angel Baby, Happy Family, Re-Play, and Dandelion!

GIVEAWAY: Enter to win a Stonyfield/Tom’s of Maine Prize Pack. Click Read More to get to the Rafflecopter entry form. Ends 6/13 a Rafflecopter giveaway//d12vno17mo87cx.cloudfront.net/embed/rafl/cptr.js