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Author: mkokopelli
This Moment
{this moment inspired by Soule Mama} –
A Friday ritual. 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.
A Friday ritual. 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.
It’s Party Time!! Yo Gabba Gabba Party in a Box
On July 12, 2011 Nickelodeon Home Entertainment and Paramount Home Entertainment, will release Yo Gabba Gabba Party In a Box, a 3-DVD Set with 12 fantastic episodes!
You will get:
Yo Gabba Gabba: Birthday Boogie
Birthday: Brobee has a surprise birthday party and everyone makes presents for him.
Guest Stars: Melora Hardin, The Ting Tings
Dress-Up: DJ Lance brings a costume box and everyone plays dress up.
Guest Star: Little Ones
Talent: The Gabba Gang learns that everyone has different talents and that practices makes perfect. Everyone uses their talent to make something special.
Guest Stars: Amar’e Stoudemire, Hot Hot Heat
Ride: The Gabba gang has fun riding toys. Toodee goes surfing, Muno rides a skateboard, Plex go-carts, Foofa rides a bike with training wheels, Brobee rides a razor and DJ Lance roller-skates.
Guest Stars: Dean & Britta
Yo Gabba Gabba: Clubhouse
Clubhouse: Brobee and Muno build a boy’s clubhouse but won’t let Foofa and Toodee play. Meanwhile, DJ Lance and Plex help Foofa and Toodee build an awesome treehouse where everyone can play.
Guest Stars: Erykah Badu, The Sounds, Mark Mothersbaugh
Adventure: Muno and friends travel through a jungle under Gabba Land and find the golden treasure.
Guest Star: The Killers
Summer: All the characters in Gabba Land enjoy the outdoors and the happiness of summertime.
Guest Star: The Aquabats
Animals: Foofa loves animals and she follows an animal to learn more about it. The Gabba gang also discovers some silly animals that only could be found in Gabba Land.
Guest Stars: Jack McBrayer, Paul Scheer, Jimmy Eat World
Yo Gabba Gabba: Dancey Dance Bunch
Friends: The characters learn how to have fun with friends and to appreciate and respect each other.
Guest Star: Mya
Eat: The characters learn the importance of eating vegetables and healthy meals, trying new things and cleaning up after themselves.
Guest Star: Elijah Wood
Dance: New dances are performed by the characters as they learn about manners and about the importance of apologizing.
Guest Star: Hector Jimenez
Happy: The characters learn how to handle moments of sadness and how to use hugs as a way of expression.
Guest Star: The Salteens
Yo Gabba Gabba: Party in a Box:
- Street Date: July 12, 2011
- Catalogue: 145314
- DVD SRP: $24.99
- DVD Running Time: Approximately 297 minutes
- Rating: Not Rated
You might remember my Yo Gabba Gabba review last year of their amazing Live show and E got to meet the cast:
DJ Lance
Biz Markie (E just gave him a silly band)
And the Yo Gabba Gabba crew
E has been a huge fan of the show since she was little. She has learned lessons like keep trying- don’t give up, try it- you’ll like it, don’t bite your friends, and tons of dancey dances. I have to admit, I wasn’t a huge fan when I first watched Yo Gabba Gabba 3 years ago. BUT after the second time of really paying attention, it grew on me and I fell in love with it’s creativity. It truly is the modern day Sesame Street- but better!!
Nickelodeon sent us the 3-DVD Party in a Box set and it has all of E’s favorite episodes! Here is a short clip from one of our favorites Eat which they performed Live:
And this is E’s favorite Special Guest on the Birthday episode… what can I say, the kiddo loves birthdays!
$24.99 is a great value for all 3 discs full of Yo Gabba Gabba classics. The discs also feature the regular segments with Biz Markie and Mark Mothersbaugh. July 12th the party begins! And be sure to check out the Yo Gabba Gabba Live site for dates they will be coming near you!
Thanks to Paramount and Nickelodeon for sending us a review copy. Remember, this is my opinion of the videos, which I think rock! 🙂
LOVE Summer Veggies & Fruits
Healthy Child, Healthy World wanted to know what is growing in everyone’s Summer gardens! Well, since we are on month 16 of our house being on the market, we didn’t plant one. 😦
BUT, E’s grandparents have an amazing garden that we’ve been enjoying this season. This is what we picked over the weekend:
Apples
Blueberries
Grapes
Corn
I thought I had pictures of the zucchini, squash, blackberries, and tomatoes but I can’t find them.
I do have to say there is nothing better than freshly picked (organic & non-GMO) corn! I usually boil them, but this year I tried something better and this is the BEST corn I’ve ever tasted:
Best Corn recipe:
- Cut both ends off of the corn
- Do not take off the silk or leaves. Wrap in tin foil
- Put on a pan and bake at 400 for 20 minutes
- Take out, unwrap, and enjoy!
Zucchini Fries:
- Cut zucchini length wise into thin slivers. Then cut those in half. It should look like a french fry
- You should have about 1/4 of a inch slivers. Dip them into a scrambled egg.
- Spray a sheet pan with organic olive oil or organic Pam
- In a bowl mix 1/2 a cup of whole wheat panko, 1/2 a cup of parm cheese, and a tiny amount of whole wheat flour.
- On a plate pour a tiny amount of the parm/panko mix and roll a zucchini fry until it is coated. Do NOT pour the whole panko mix since it is very absorbent. It will not work if it gets too wet.
- Place the coated zucchini fry onto the greased sheet pan
- Bake at 400 for 10-20 minutes. Turn half way through. Make sure they are golden brown and crispy
I have over a pound of blackberries right now. We love making cobbler and fruit pops every week. Here are 2 simple ice pop recipes:
Blackberry Pop
- Blend Blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, and a banana- plus 1 TB of water
- Pour into pop mold and freeze
Blackberry/Apple Pop
- Blend blackberries, blueberries, a banana, and 4 TB of applesauce
- Pour into pop mold and freeze
Note: I don’t ever measure the fruit and use a Bullet blender. It’s usually around 10-20 berries each. 🙂
Day 63 Low Sugar Challenge
Yup, I’m still on it. But there really haven’t been any new changes. I’m at a 11 pound weight loss and other than that, I haven’t been able to tell any other results. I haven’t had time to work out, like I had planned. I do have to admit I cheated and broke down to have some frozen yogurt with blackberry cobbler… Oh yeah, so bad 😉 But there is nothing better than fresh picked berries made into a cobbler.
I’m not sure how many of you are following the challenge… is there anything you’d like to see or learn about?
Our Sunscreen Dilemma
So I’m over sunscreen this year! We are having the worst time with it. E is allergic to zinc oxide. She breaks out into hives and it can get pretty bad- especially if in the diaper area. Not a fun place (for her) for us to learn about the allergy when she was an infant.
Last year I got her titanium dioxide sunscreen at the beach from a natural store. Of course I don’t remember the name, I just know it worked. This year I decided to go with California Baby since it scored a 1 on the EWG. I coughed up the obscene amount for it since there were no other eco options, plus we were headed to the pool the next day so it was a quicky buy. When we got home from the pool that day, she broke out in a mild rash on her chest. I thought it was heat rash. The next day and the next, same thing. So I went to the health food store to see their options. Their only non-zinc formula was Alba. I saw some ingredients that I knew were questionable, but I needed something fast since we were headed to the pool again the next day. I decided the “natural” was better than half of the stuff the other kids were using, so why not…
Maybe I should explain we got a 2 week YMCA membership because it was cheaper to join for 2 weeks than to pay 3 times as a visitor. I wanted to get our moneys worth, so if it was pretty outside, we were going to be at the pool. And I had no time to wait for sunscreen to ship. 😉
So, we used the Alba on Tuesday.
That is poor E at urgent care after the pool. Notice her purplish toes? She had a horrible reaction to the sunscreen. She was covered in hives on her hands, feet, legs, chest, and back. On her back the hives were only in the area that was sun exposed and the Dr. said basically the sun could have caused a chemical reaction and that’s why it’s not everywhere on her body.
The bottle of sunscreen said “Natural- Very Emollient.” I looked up the ingredients on the EWG and was really upset the sunscreen scored a 6.
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You know I preach about looking up products ingredients, and the one time I don’t… look what happens. I contacted my local food store and let them know how upset I was that they carried anything with such a high rating. They forwarded me to Alba and someone from there contacted me asking me to send the bottle back. I’m assuming for testing to see what caused the reaction.
But, lesson learned. Always look up products before purchasing! I’m trying some Juice Beauty this week and hoping it works!! I’ll keep you posted on how everything goes.
Hello Friends
No, I didn’t drop off the face of the planet! I’m just trying to enjoy the Summer before it slips by us! 🙂 As of right now I’m working 2 jobs, running 9 (yes, 9) Facebook & Twitter pages, trying to freelance, entertain a active 4 year old, keep up a social life, while enjoying the Summer. Oh yeah, add blogging!! It’s exhausting just saying it all.
Feel free to stop by and show some love on any of the following Facebook pages:
My personal site if you know me 😉
Of course my own- @Mkokopelli
I’m an ambassador @Juice Beauty
Coolest recycled bags EVER @rocklovepeace
If you are in Charlotte, say hi on @MomsCharlotte
Cool baby gear @FranklinGoose
Richmond fans @FranlinGoose
Babywearing fans @FranklinGoose (check out the hot dad pics wearing their babies!)
Cloth diapering fans @FranklinGoose
What has everyone been doing with their Summer so far? Where can I find YOU on Facebook? I’d love to say hi since I’m always there 😉
GLOB Natural Paint GIVEAWAY
This giveaway has ended. Thanks to all that entered. Congrats to comment #60!!
I was fooled (like most people) by the term “Non-toxic” when buying paint for E. I never questioned the label, because how can companies get away with lying to the consumer- right? Well, turns out they can in several different ways.
Safety standards aren’t very high when it comes to paint and other art supply ingredients. Many are petroleum based; contain lead (not regulated in art paint), formaldehyde, cadmium, and arsenic; and harmful dyes. These companies can get away with labeling non-toxic because some of the chemicals have never been tested for toxicity or some are deemed safe like the carcinogen formaldehyde.
Not only do these “non-toxic” paints contain harsh chemicals that can easily be absorbed into your child’s skin, they can be toxic to wildlife. Most people wash their paint brushes off in the sink, which goes into our water supply and can harm fish and other animals.
This is why it’s important to find natural paints that use food-grade ingredients.
I am always looking for new products for E, especially art products. She loves painting and drawing. I found GLOB on Zulily and had to try them out. GLOB is made from fruits, vegetables, flowers, and spices with natural food-grade ingredients and organic extracts. You just add water and you have amazing vibrant paint! You can choose whether you want watercolors or finger paints. They are all natural and biodegradable!
E got this cardboard house a couple of years ago and LOVES it. She decided to draw on it, before I had a chance to make it pretty. So it’s been an eyesore. Our house is STILL on the market (15 months to be exact) so I decided it was time to make it pretty.
I got out our new GLOB packet of 6 colors (Ingredients: gum arabic, plant starch, natural colors (one or more of the following: fruit, vegetable, flower, and spice pigments), organic extracts and food-grade preservatives) and mixed them in some old baby food jars I kept for art projects. The purple and blue smell sooo good!!
6 VIBRANT BOTANICAL COLORS: Lemon Verbena, Blueberry, Pomegranate, Tangerine, Plum Purple and Basil Green
It took several layers of paint to cover the soy crayon, and E wanted to help, so it didn’t turn out the way I really wanted. But, it looks much better than before! The door was falling in, so the border is tape. 🙂
The paint didn’t stain the sheet on the floor, but I would recommend using a smock and non-organic clothing. For some reason natural paints seem to stain organic fabrics much easier than non.
GLOB paint also has brushes, pads, paint sets and kits, plantable greetings, jars, and storage. I can’t wait to try more!
The GIVEAWAY: GLOB would like to give 1 lucky winner a packet of 6 colors!
Rules: You have until 11:59 p.m. EST July 31, 2011 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 & Canada
How to Enter: Click on “Comments” to leave your post. Make sure to leave your email address!! I cannot contact the winner without it!
EXTRA entries: Follow me on Networked Blogs and tell me your favorite GLOB paint color. 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, Follow Mkokopelli on Twitter, Follow my blog on GFC, Follow on tumblr (1 entry for each one)
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 (3 entries)
4. Blog, Tweet, or send a message on FB and leave a link here (1 entry per day)
#win GLOB Natural Paint @Mkokopelli ends 7/15 @globiton #GIVEAWAY http://nblo.gs/juPgv
5. “Like” GLOB on Facebook
6. Sign up for the GLOB newsletter (3 entries)
7. Tell me where you can find GLOB near you
8. Tell me what you’d do with your GLOB if you won. Check out their fun ideas!
9. Follow GLOB on Twitter
disclaimer- I was sent GLOB products for free for review. This is no way changed my opinion on their products. These are only my results, opinions and thoughts.
In Case You Missed It…
Eco news for June 6-12
- Greenpeace posted the above banner on Mattel’s building June 7. Mattel is wrapping its Barbie brand in rainforest sourced paper pulp from Indonesia and Greenpeace is fighting back.
- The National Institute of Health finally declared formaldehyde a carcinogen. Lets hope they start removing it from vaccines and children’s products.
- Huffington Post reports that Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide causes birth defects and the industry has known for years- 31 years to be exact. The report states, “regulators knew as long ago as 1980 that glyphosate, the chemical on which Roundup is based, can cause birth defects in laboratory animals.”
- The FDA finally admits chicken meat tests positive for arsenic. Chickens have purposefully been fed a arsenic drug for the past 60 years and the FDA has denied that it remained in the meat until now. Roxarsone, a drug manufactured by Pfizer- a vaccine company, will soon be pulled from shelves. Though there are other arsenic drugs still remaining.
- “According to the EPA, reduced emissions from this new air toxics rule will save as many as 17,000 American lives every year by 2015, and will prevent up to 120,000 cases of childhood asthma. We must put our support behind this lifesaving new emissions standard! Tell the EPA to uphold this rule and protect Americans from dangerous air pollution.”
- The ban on breastfeeding in GA has been lifted! 2 weeks ago, Forest Park, GA banned breastfeeding in public of any child older than 24 months. After nurse ins and many complaints, the ban was lifted.
- 2 more days to vote for The Toxies! Be sure to make your people’s choice award before the 14th. Toxies are June 16 in L.A.
- Dr. Mercola suggests you should never heat plastic, even if it says BPA free. BPA expert Frederic vom Saal said that all plastic leeches BPA when microwaved. Plastic containing BPA has even leeched from being heated in a dishwasher.
Day 40 Sugar Challenge
Day 40 and nothing has really changed since my last check in. I’m still 10 pounds lighter. Still crave sweet sugary stuff. But, I’m still happy with my decision. 🙂
I read a great sugar article on The Green Mama that you should check out! She also had a You Tube video posted that I had to share!!
Mkokopelli.com 