This is from Tylenol:

You may have heard that McNeil Consumer Healthcare (the makers of Tylenol) is voluntarily recalling certain lots of Children’s and Infants’ TYLENOL® liquid products that were manufactured between April, 2008 and June, 2008 in consultation with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The company is implementing this voluntary recall at the warehouse and retail levels, because examination of one of the inactive ingredients did not meet internal testing requirements. However, the packaged product, shipped to retailers by the company, has met all specifications.

These actions do not apply to Children’s Tylenol Meltaways and Junior Strength Tylenol Meltaways. The voluntary recall applies only to select lots of Children’s and Infants’ TYLENOL® liquid products.

If you have any of the potentially affected products in your home and have questions you can contact the McNeil Consumer Call Care Center at 1-800-962-5357 (available Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Time.)

Parents and caregivers who have given the product to their child or infant and have concerns should contact their child’s health care provider.

The full list of affected products is below. Consumers can find the lot numbers on the bottom of the box containing the product and also on the sticker that surrounds the product bottle. If you have more questions, please contact our consumer call center at 1-800-962-5357.

This giveaway has ended. Thanks to all that entered!
I love to accessorize, especially with great handbags! I have to admit I have a bag addiction. I love totes, handbags, small purses, backpacks… if it’s a bag- I love it. It’s important to have a bag variety to match your outfit and shoes. Not to mention, bags to carry while you’re out with your child and ones when you’re solo. That makes a BIG difference!

This month, HealthyStuff.Org did a study on women’s handbags and the results were insane! 79 bags came back with high levels of lead or PVC, 30 bags came back with medium levels, and only 9 came back with low or no levels of toxic chemicals. Yes, 9 came back safe. Now this test was done before the bags were in use. Think about all of the germs your bags pick up after being left on floors, chairs, shopping carts and other places. Talk about a germ/toxic infested nightmare. Granted, we don’t put our handbags in our mouths… but still the thought of carrying around any level of lead is disturbing.

I’ve seen more and more Eco-friendly bags sprouting up on the internet and I was sooo happy when Eco-Handbags decided to work with me for a review and giveaway. Eco-Handbags carries Eco-friendly handbags made with recycled or earth-friendly materials. If you are looking for an original, unique bag that is helping the environment- this is the place to go!

Eco-Handbags has bags made out of candy wrappers, books, jeans, carpet, cigar boxes, chopsticks, skateboards, sweaters, bamboo, hemp, organic cotton and more!! You have to check them out to appreciate the art in making these gorgeous bags. A friend of mine picked up my review bag and said she’d love to have carpet made from that material. Well, this was before she knew that the bag was actually made out of carpet! Eco-Handbags also carries dog carriers, purse hooks, reusable bags and totes.

Check out the cute Celia Bag- you can’t even tell it’s made out of carpet!
The Celia Bag is handmade in Suffolk and Cambridgeshire from “Silkie” carpet fabricated from cotton and viscose. This carpet fabric is woven and is very durable. It has a magnetic closure and a inner zipped pocket in the cotton twill lining. I especially love how Ella’s things can fit into the bag!

The Giveaway: Eco-Handbags is giving one lucky reader the Celia Bag in the picture below. A $125 value!!
Rules: You have until 11:59 p.m. EST October 9, 2009 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.

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

5. Enter another giveaway I have going on and tell me which one or leave a comment on a non-giveaway post
6. Follow Eco-Handbags on Twitter and Tweet about the giveaway
7. Tell me something you learned about Eco-Handbags on their site
8. Grab Mkokopelli’s Fall Week button and post on your blog or FB page

This giveaway has ended. Thanks to all that entered!

First, I want to say thank you for all of the comments left last night! It’s been a long journey to lose weight, but I feel great. Before I had Ella I weighed 164. I only gained 28 pounds with her, which I lost in 2 weeks. But I still had some weight to get off. In the past year I’ve lost 36 pounds. The only thing I’ve done differently is eat organic non-processed foods and cut my portion sizes. I will get into that next month with my Eating Healthy Week. The only downside to losing weight is needing new clothes. And when you are a stay at home mom with no income, it’s hard to go shopping! Luckily, DreamSacks sent me the gorgeous Athena Tunic for my Fall photoshoot and it’s the first time in 9 years that I’ve fit into a size small!

DreamSacks is one of my new favorite stores. You can read more about their amazing “Green” company in a previous post by clicking here. DreamSacks carries Eco-friendly bedding, clothes for the whole family, accessories, bath products and more! A lot of their products are made from viscose from bamboo fibers, which is my top new find. You’ll also find fabrics like silk, soybean, cashmere and organic cotton. I got to try 2 of the DreamSacks baby blankets for my blanket week and I seriously loved them both. I even begged for a larger size of the Knit Baby Blanket to be made for adults since it was so silky and light weight. Little did I know was that their clothing would feel exactly like the blanket!

Like I said in a previous post, it was 85 degrees when we did our photoshoot. If you’ve ever been to NC then you know how our humidity is… not pleasant and sticky. After running around for 3 hours uptown, I expected to sweat and get yucky. But, not one drop! Rolling my sleeves up a tiny bit made it totally comfortable. If I had been in any other fabric, I would have been miserable.
The last picture was the end of the shoot. As you can see- no sweat marks. And that’s after jumping around in puddles and chasing a 2 year old around. Viscose from bamboo really lives up to the hype. I was also provided a scarf and loved to be wrapped in the silky fabric. I have major texture issues and can’t stand scratchy materials, so trying out clothes without touching them has been really hard for me. DreamSacks has really passed the test and I can’t wait to order more.

Not only are DreamSacks clothes Eco-friendly, soft and durable, they have amazing styles in beautiful earthy tones. They carry tops, pants and dresses that are professional or to just lounge around the house in. Mixing comfort with style should be important to any woman. And just because you’ve become a parent doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice your sense of fashion! The Tunic dress I wore wasn’t constricting and wearing the leggings underneath made it possible for me to play around without worrying about revealing anything.

The Giveaway: DreamSacks would like to offer 1 lucky reader a Athena Tunic in their choice of color!
Rules: You have until 11:59 p.m. EST October 9, 2009 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.

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

5. Enter another giveaway I have going on and tell me which one or leave a comment on a non-giveaway post
6. Follow DreamSacks on Facebook or Twitter
7. Tell me something you learned on the DreamSacks Blog
8. Grab Mkokopelli’s Fall Week button and post on your blog or FB page

I hate having my picture taken. I never like my pictures and as a photographer I nit pick every detail. Luckily, my best friend takes great pictures of me and I had amazing makeup from Lavera to use to help bring out my features. 🙂 But, let’s talk about makeup before I get into Lavera.

There have been tons of makeup tests done lately and a lot have come back containing lead. Especially in lipsticks. Yes, this is a replay of many years ago and now the scare has come back. This month the FDA finally started testing lipsticks (since environmentalists have been on them for a while) and found high levels of lead in all 20 lipsticks they tested. Yet, they did not release the names of the brands and still have not developed a standard for lead in lipstick. You can read more on Safe Cosmetics.

Lavera has started a Lavera Lipstick Exchange so that consumers could send in their lead contaminated lipsticks and they’ll color match with a Lavera Lipstick and send them a PROMO CODE for $10 off any non-clearance lipstick purchase. Due to the popularity of this program, they’ve extended the Lavera Lipstick Exchange til the end of 2009.

Another scary fact is that the FDA allows mercury compounds to be in certain makeup as long as it doesn’t exceed 65 ppm! Though, the FDA doesn’t completely regulate the makeup industry and allows them a self policing policy. Unlike drug companies, makeup companies do not have to test their products before releasing them. Since the ingredients aren’t regulated, harmful chemicals and toxins are more than likely to end up in your makeup. When I say harmful, I’m talking about chemicals which are known to cause cancer, infertility, and even birth defects.

First of all, you don’t want nasty chemicals absorbing into your skin just for beauty. Especially when most women put on makeup several times a day. Secondly, how many times have your children played in your makeup? I remember waking up one morning to Ella playing in my makeup with stuff all over her face. Luckily, it was organic and she didn’t have a reaction. She has my sensitive skin and almost anything makes her break out. Another thing to worry about is your unborn baby. A study was done on umbilical cords to detect how many chemicals were being absorbed and over 287 potentially toxic chemicals were found! The study didn’t document all the products the mother’s used, but everything that we are exposed to adds up.

I’m not saying that putting on non-organic makeup is going to give you cancer. But I want you to see that many small doses of toxic chemicals can lead to major health problems. You just need to assess everything that you use to limit how many chemicals you put into your body. And makeup is one of the easiest products to switch!

Lavera carries safe, organic makeup, bath and body, hair care, anti-aging, skin care and more that is amazing! In 2008 they were ranked #1 in a study on safe cosmetics conducted by Oeko-Test Magazine. Lavera has received more than 150 Oeko-test awards in the category “Recommended /Very Good”, more than any other manufacturer of cosmetics. All of their products are free from parabens, SLS, synthetic preservatives, fragrances, emulsifiers and petroleum based ingredients. They do contain pure, organic plant oils, herb and flower extracts designed for sensitive skin.

I was sent the Eye Shadow Duo #1 in a light gray/blue to review and I loved it! It matched my dress and totally brought out my eyes. I like a natural look and that’s exactly what it gave me while still bringing out my features. I was also sent their Lip Gloss #6 in burgundy. This seriously was the best lip gloss I’ve ever used. No clunky or gritty excess was left on my lips after applying! My lips stayed moisturized and didn’t crack like all of the other glosses I’ve used. I also put their Lipstick #20 in terracotta on over the gloss so it was a natural look. Again, no cracked lips and it went on smoothly. I can’t wait to try more of their products!

The Discount: Lavera would like to give my readers 15% off any purchase until October 31, 2009. Just enter Mkokopelli at the checkout! It’s not valid on clearance or out of box.

You can follow Lavera on Twitter for exclusive updates and offers or sign up for their newsletter at Lavera.

This giveaway has ended. Thanks to all that entered!
The one thing I don’t like about Fall is how the temperature fluctuates throughout the day. It starts off in the low 60’s and then rises to the high 70’s and 80’s. Which is hard for planning outfits for the day. To cut down on laundry, I like to keep Ella in 1 outfit which is really difficult to do. Luckily she loves wearing dresses, so a sweater and Leg Huggers by Agoo have been my answer thus far.Leg Huggers are awesome! They are similar to tights, but don’t have the crotch or feet. Which are perfect when you are potty training and don’t want another thing to pull down. Or if your baby is in diapers, it’s easy access. Leg Huggers are made out of bamboo fibres which help control body temperature. Bamboo fibres wick moisture away, so it helps circulation and prevents over heating or chills from trapped in moisture. If you’d like to read more about bamboo, please see my previous post by clicking here. You can find out everything you need to know about bamboo!

I love the patterns Leg Huggers carries! They are adorable and you have many options to match your child’s dresses, skirts, onesies or short pants. What I like most is that if you are out and the temperature rises, the Leg Huggers are easy to take off and they will even fit over shoes. If your child starts to outgrow the Leg Huggers they can become arm warmers! But Ella is 38 inches and she still has room to grow into hers.
Aren’t they cute? They have little hearts around the ankle and 1 heart near the thigh. Ella had Baby Legs when she was younger and they cut off the circulation in her thighs. Most babies have chunky thighs so I didn’t understand why they weren’t more stretchy. I wish I would have found Leg Huggers years ago because they are super stretchy! They feel really silky, so your child won’t even realize they are on.

Leg Huggers come in 1 size fits all. They are for boys and girls, especially on the move. They protect your crawlers legs on hard surfaces and protect your runners when they fall. Ella happened to fall today on the pavement and didn’t even get a scratch. I don’t know what it is about our drive way, but she falls every time she runs. The bamboo fiber was strong enough not to rip or tear and you can’t even tell she fell in them. These are a must have for the Fall and Winter months. And the best part is that they are totally affordable at $10 a pair!

The Giveaway: Agoo would like to give 1 lucky reader a pair of Leg Huggers of their choice

The Rules: You have until 11:59 p.m. EST October 8, 2009 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 everyone!

5. Enter another giveaway I have going on and tell me which one or leave a comment on a non-giveaway post
6. Become a Fan of Leg Huggers on Facebook or follow on Twitter
7. Tell me something else you like from Agoo
8. Grab Mkokopelli’s Fall Week button and post on your blog or FB page

This contest has ended! Thanks to all that entered!
So with the perfect dress and hat, you have to have the perfect shoes!!! Ella has gone from a size 6 to a size 9 in 4 months. She stayed at a 6 for a very long time and then they all of a sudden they grew like crazy. We weren’t prepared for colder weather, so I started to do some research about children’s shoes.

Did you know that 99% of the shoes purchased in the USA and Canada are imported from Asia or South America and are often made with unhealthy and polluting processes? 99% of the shoes are made with a formaldehyde tanning process, which is unhealthy for the environment and YOU! Formaldehyde (a classified probable human carcinogen) can be absorbed through your skin and it can be a skin irritant. Some people have developed hives, rashes and even burning sensations from the chemical. It also poisons ground water downstream from tanneries. But luckily there are some great Eco-friendly companies out there like Soft Star Shoes who want to make a difference for you and the environment!

Soft Star Shoes uses as little chemicals as possible in their shoes. They understand that infants like to put shoes in their mouths, and it’s important to create something safe for everyone. The Soft Star elves make sure there is no formaldehyde in any shoe and that they meet the highest safety standards. Soft Star Shoes believes that barefoot is the best. Obviously you can’t go around barefoot all of the time, so they have created shoes that emulate bare feet. Their soles have no heels, arch support or other “molding” features. They are slip resistant, shock absorbent and flexible. And their materials make it easy for your child’s feet to breathe instead of getting all hot and sweaty. Soft Star Shoes carries sizes for babies, toddlers, youth and adults. They also have a vegan line!

Soft Star Shoes is a USA company. Many shoe companies use materials from other countries and are shipped over 11,000 miles to get to their destination. By purchasing USA made products you are helping reduce the carbon footprint, plus you are supporting US jobs. Soft Star Shoes is 100% powered by solar and wind power! That’s impressive! They are part of the Blue Sky renewable energy program- which means they are paying more for power to reduce the carbon footprint and protecting our natural resources. Their production scraps are sorted and reused or recycled to local charities. They are a truly amazing Eco-friendly company in all aspects.

When I received our pair of Soft Star Shoes I was a little bit hesitant about there being no arch support. Ella’s arches have just developed and I was worried she might twist her ankle. But, after our photoshoot and watching her run around for 3 hours all of my worries were put to rest. It was just as if she was running around with bare feet. She’s had issues falling with lots of the shoes she’s worn this summer and even while running on slippery floors, she didn’t fall in her new shoes.These are the Mary Jane- Naomi Chocolate shoes available in sizes 4-13. They also come in wide, narrow or regular, which I loved because Ella has chubby little feet. The shoes have a Velcro feature, so it is great for her to put on or take off. They have a cute heart cutout below the toes. The leather is super soft and formed to Ella’s feet. They were tough to get on at first, but after some wear, they were easier to get on. These are seriously my favorite shoes Ella has owned!

The Giveaway: Soft Star Shoes wants to give 1 lucky reader a $20 off coupon!

The Rules: You have until 11:59 p.m. EST October 7, 2009 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

5. Enter another giveaway I have going on and tell me which one or leave a comment on a non-giveaway post
6. Become a Fan of Soft Star Shoes on Facebook
7. Tell me something you learned on Soft Star Shoes that wasn’t mentioned above
8. Grab Mkokopelli’s Fall Week button and post on your blog or FB page

This contest has ended! Thanks to all that entered!
I first found Etsy 2 years ago when I was looking for a handmade hat. I have been a photographer for 9 years and there is something about babies in hats that makes a picture perfect. Ella still looks adorable in hats, so I love buying them for her. Now that is time for Fall weather and Ella’s head has grown since last season, I decided to look on Etsy for organic handmade hats and came across Rudbeckia.

I contacted Susan from Rudbeckia with a request to do a review and giveaway for her amazing hats. She truly went above and beyond to create Ella the PERFECT organic hat to match her Fall photoshoot dress. Susan even created a detachable linen rose and bow for the hat to keep it fully Eco-friendly. I’m glad I could be an inspiration for her! She was such a pleasure to work with, I can’t recommend Rudbeckia enough!

Our photoshoot was Saturday and it was 85 degrees here. The hat started to make Ella warm, so the detachable rose came in handy! Not to mention it is gorgeous! Yes, she is my happy little hippy baby. I absolutely LOVE the way the hat looks on her and the vintage feel it gives the pictures.

The hat is very warm and great for colder weather. But, the rose feature is perfect for any time. The organic cotton is very soft and beautifully handknit. The hat can be gently handwashed. Ella dropped hers uptown and I was able to get the dirt off very easily. I think you can tell by the pictures what a beautiful hat Rudbeckia creates!

Rudbeckia carries handmade knit hats in sizes newborn to adults, scarves, cowls and headbands all at great prices.

The Giveaway: Rudbeckia is offering 1 very lucky reader a custom hat with their choice in color and size!!

The Rules: You have until 11:59 p.m. EST October 7, 2009 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

5. Enter another giveaway I have going on and tell me which one or leave a comment on a non-giveaway post
6. Tell me one of Rudbeckia’s favorite materials to use or some other info about her
7. Tell me what you like about handmade items
8. Grab Mkokopelli’s Fall Week button and post on your blog or FB page

Congrats to Whitney for winning the Lotus Bebe Luxury Blanket

Whitney said… CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1; document.write(CommentsCounter) 164

Love the luxury blanket with brown!

September 15, 2009 10:26 PM

Congrats to Jennifer for winning the Barefoot Buddies Blanket from California Cozy

Jennifer said… CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1; document.write(CommentsCounter) 30

I also like the Little giraffe chenile polka dot blankie and I would love the blue puppy!

September 6, 2009 5:59 PM

Congrats to Nancy for winning the speesees blanket

fancygrlnancy said… CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1; document.write(CommentsCounter) 56

fb, twitter, and follow

September 3, 2009 12:34 AM

Congrats to Tatjana for winning the Dream Sacks Knit Blanket

ktanjatk said… CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1; document.write(CommentsCounter) 116

I follow your blog

September 17, 2009 11:48 AM

Thanks to all that entered!

Fall is here tomorrow!! I’m so excited and ready for the change. 🙂 I’m interested to know what you like or dislike about Fall. Here is what I like:

1. The colors! Nothing makes me happier than orange, red, brown and yellow everywhere.
2. The weather. I love 60-70 degree weather and driving around with the windows down.
3. The harvest. I love to go apple and pumpkin picking.
4. The food. I love pumpkin seeds, beer cheese soup, pumpkin breads, pumpkin pie and apples in everything. (Now I’m in the mood for pumpkin seeds)
5. The scents. There is nothing better than pumpkin permeating the house.
6. Halloween. OK, I know it’s the least Eco-friendly holiday, but I love dressing up and participating in the holiday fun. Not to mention haunted houses.
7. Scary movie fests. Nothing gets me in the mood like watching scary movies back to back.
8. Fall festivals. Charlotte has tons of festivals in the Fall and I enjoy seeing all of the local artists.
9. Going to the mountains. I love driving through the mountains to truly witness the beauty of the season change. Hopefully this year we’ll be able to make it!
10. Playing in the leaves. I’m a big kid and love jumping in a pile of leaves.

Now it’s your turn. Remember you can get extra entries for leaving comments on non-posts. 🙂

I finally broke down and took E to the doctors. Her fever spiked to 103.3 last night and it’s never been that high. Luckily, no swine flu here and the doctor said to just ride it out. I love that her doctor isn’t pushing antibiotics and is letting nature take its course. Hopefully the little one will be feeling better by the weekend. 🙂