Giveaway: Reusable Food Pouches From Little Green Pouch - $42 ARV {6/29; US}

This is a joint giveaway with Embrita Blogging and Natural Parents Network. You may enter at one site only. Please find the section marked "Win it!" for the mandatory entry and optional bonus entries.

Little Green Pouch is offering our readers a giveaway of two 4-packs of pouches, a Mini Funnel and Dissolvable Content and Date Labels, a value of $42.







From our reviewer, Emily at Embrita Blogging: Little Green Pouches are reusable baby food pouches ideal for everything from milk to pureed blueberries. They're sturdy, durable, and cute. The collapsible funnel and dissolvable labels make for easy refilling and keep you from losing track of food's freshness.





About Little Green Pouch

Creators Maggie and Melissa are both moms who love the ease of food pouches, but hated the environmental unfriendliness of the single-use pouches - as well as the somewhat limited flavor selections available in them. So they designed their own reusable pouches for everyone to enjoy! These pouches are dishwasher-safe, freezer-safe, and made of BPA-free, phthalate-free plastic, and they hold up to six ounces of food or drink!

Our Experience

These food pouches are extremely cute. Bright, sunny green keeps the otherwise minimal design from being boring, and the back has clear instructions (for those of us suffering from Not Enough Sleep) and a space for writing your child's name or your phone number in permanent ink. They're sturdy and the plastic is thick, so they'll stand upright on their own if you need to set them down. The mouth opens wide enough to spoon in yogurt, in case you forget that you own the funnel, like I did. The funnel fits perfectly and makes the whole process go much more smoothly, and then collapses down so that it doesn't take up too much room in the diaper bag — which makes refilling on the go super easy. I'm fairly certain I'll keep empty pouches and the funnel in the car well after my boys are past purees for easy smoothie portioning and serving. For now, though, Walter still needs a spoon to eat from his, and luckily the spout is a standard size, and a spoon set that I bought at the store (a disposable pouch brand) fits perfectly.

 
Dissolvable Labels: doing it right.

 The dissolvable labels are easy to write on and stick well enough that they stay on until it's time to wash them off. But beware: they aren't kidding about the dissolving part — my labels were gone between the time I turned the tap on to trickle and when I grabbed my camera from two feet away and took the lens cap off. Easy cleanup is always a bonus!

Other Features

The zipper on top of the pouches is secure when zipped (great because the boys can't pop it open!) but not easy for me to open the first few uses of each pouch. The bags are also pretty stiff right out of the box — this is great because it means they'll hold up longer, but it also means that at first I had to wrestle with the bottom to get it to open up all the way so I could fill the pouch. It also means that getting down into the creases at the bottom of the pouch requires intent: slack off there and you'll have food left in the bag, so be prepared to either use the nipple section of the bottle brush or pop them into your dishwasher. Ultimately, these are awesome. I give Little Green Pouch two thumbs way up!
 

BUY IT!

You can purchase your own pouches, funnel, and dissolvable labels at LittleGreenPouch.com. The 4-packs of pouches are $14.99 each, rolls of labels are $5.99 each, and collapsible funnels are $5.99 each. They also offer spout extenders, extra lids, labels, and other fun accessories for your pouch set.  

WIN IT!

Folks - the rafflecopter script appears to be twitchy, so follow this link for your entering pleasure!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The winner will receive 2 4packs of pouches, a roll of labels, and a funnel from Little Green Pouch, worth $42. Contest is open to residents of the US. Enter by leaving a comment and using our Rafflecopter system below!

MANDATORY ENTRY: Simply enter your name and address in our Rafflecopter system!

Leave a valid email address so we can contact you if you win. Email addresses in Rafflecopter are not made publicly visible. Please leave the same valid email address in any bonus comments so we can verify entries. This is a joint giveaway with Embrita Blogging and Natural Parents Network. You may enter at one site only, and we'll be recording IP addresses to ensure that there are no duplicate entries. That said, please do visit and enjoy both sites!   BONUS ENTRIES: See the Rafflecopter entry system for bonus entries to increase your chance of winning after completing the mandatory entry. All bonus entries are entered directly into Rafflecopter. Give it a try, and email or leave a comment if you have any questions!

Putting Indestructibles to the Test

A few years ago, when Baz was a baby, my mom sent us 2 books from a company called Indestructibles. They are, supposedly, immune to the abuse toddlers put books through. By the time we got them, I'd already been working with Baz to be gentle with books so he did not put them through the wringer.

 (tip: start with catalogues. If those get torn, no one cares, and they're more delicate than picture books, so by the time you introduce picture books, the bar has been set.)

Walter got them pretty early - and he's a kid who puts everything in his mouth (Baz, not so much.)

He just can't get enough of the amazing illustrations and the tasty paper. Trust me, he has been known to just gaze at the images, too.

These books have been put through the ringer. On the left - Humpty Dumpty gets some love, but Frere Jacques (about a chef who dreams of food) gets the most love. He crushes, chews, sucks, throws, peruses, and smashes. They are crumpled, but that actually makes them softer. The illustrations are not worse for the wear, either. 

Hey Diddle Diddle was Baz's - he reads it quite often. Note its near-perfect condition. I have a rather fastidious child.

I decided to put them to the ultimate test: ironing. I used the steam, a fairly high heat, and a linen napkin (you should always put something lint-free and color fast between your iron and whatever you're ironing, lest you over-heat the fabric and leave shiny spots or burns. Those are tell-tale wear signs and not acceptable at all....wonder where my 3 year old gets his fastidiousness from? ;-) )

After ironing - flat books again! 

Ok, so I found one chink in the armor of the virtually indestructible books: direct heat from the iron will melt the pages. I found this out when I was ironing and the cord of the iron pulled the napkin away. I do not recommend that. I'm pretty sure you could cut these with scissors, too, but I don't want to try because we enjoy these books!

So there you go - the perfect infant books. I want to make a point of saying these are the perfect car books - they're not hard or heavy like board books, they're not prone to tearing like paperbacks, and the pictures are colorful and inviting. We keep at least one in the seat pocket at all times.

For legal reasons I need to say that this company doesn't know who I am, that I ironed their book, or even that I own their books. They do not care that I melted Frere Jacques because they do not know that I own Frere Jacques (they may care if they ever find out, but who knows if that will happen. 12 people ready my blog.) They also would probably like to know that I HEARTILY recommend these books as gifts for the small ones in your life and that I feel the price (~$5) is well worth it. Find them at your local book store* or amazon.

*why shop local? Here's why. Seriously. Click through and read at least the cover page at the

 3/50 Project. 

You'll be amazed.

Glob Paints: a Review

***So I got this GLOB kit as a freebie through NPN - under the impression that I was doing a review/giveaway for them. But I'm NOT doing a giveaway. I do, however, love this little paint kit, so here is my review.****

 I was super excited to do this review - we're big painters around here and the idea of natural pigments that we can mix to our exacting specifications is very appealing. Then I did some research on the company and it just got better and better. They're based in California (where the paints are made) and the company uses only natural, botanical sources: seeds, fruits, vegetables, nuts, etc. The company is also really focused on the community - once a year they give a selected school paints and art supplies to help keep art in the school despite the budget cuts that seem to get deeper every year.

Mixin' it up! 

 We really enjoyed the process - picking the colors (we started with two) and mixing them and then, of course, painting. The consistency was a little hard to get right - I used WAY too much water (I should have read the directions, in retrospect) but we got to see the saturation as I added more pigment to get it right. The pigment bags look like seed packets, which is super cute, and they include a little compostable cup with a lid for each color (you could use condiment cups or ramekins for blending, if you were so inclined.)

   The pigments themselves are gluten-free and vegan, so if you have those concerns, you can breathe easy. It says on the bags that it's neither intended for consumption nor recommended for those under 6, but I wouldn't worry about either of those too much. After all, even the pros eat a little paint here and there. I can't think of anything I would improve - maybe more color options and a better sealing packet for the unused pigment, but those are really minor concerns. Ultimately, these are going on my "excellent gift" list for future gift-giving occasions. Trust me. They are that awesome.   Get your own HERE.

The finished product. Notecards for every occasion!

Giveaway: Birth Announcements from TinyPrints — 2 Winners! — $75 ARV {10.6 US/CAN}

This is a joint giveaway with Embrita Blogging and Natural Parents Network. You may enter at one site only. Please find the section marked "Win it!" for the mandatory entry and optional bonus entries.

TinyPrints is offering TWO of our readers a gift certificate for Birth Announcements or other custom stationery items, a value of $75. From our reviewer, Embrita Blogging:

TinyPrints started as 3 friends filling a gap in the market: quality baby stationery. Since then, the company has expanded to offer invitations, announcements, and greeting cards for all occasions as well as gifts and decor and photo books. The process is easy: narrow down your favorites until you pick a design you like, upload your photos, fill in the blanks, and before you know it there's a happy box waiting on your porch. We were expecting our second son in early August and I spent most of July pouring over the offerings on the TinyPrints site to pick the perfect announcement. Both my husband and Baz weighed in with their opinions and we finally landed on a flat square card with a single image on the front and a single image on the back. So here's what I like about the company and the process: there are many, many options and seemingly endless configurations: season, gender, pregnancy, adoption, number of photos, flat or folded (or accordion!)...the list goes on and on. The cards are printed on heavy stock that will hold up to the abuse given by the postal system (I just went with the standard offering, though you can upgrade both paper and coating). Here's what it looks like on their site:

Here's what arrived on my porch:

(That kid is cute, but mine is clearly cuter :))

Looks awesome to me. While I stuck with the default font for this layout, you can change colors and fonts for some of their options.

We did add a photo to the back for good measure (my first choice was to pick an option with multiple images on the front, but I was out-voted). On the one hand, I'm vaguely bothered that the quality of that image is clearly of lesser quality than the one on the front. On the other hand, I don't really care because it's on the back of the card and the card is about Walter, who is so darned cute on the front!

The only thing that really bothered me about some of the card options was that the text wasn't fully customizable. The first card we all agreed on was for a Holiday season baby, even though the colors didn't indicate it as such and there was no way to remove "Happy Holidays!" from the greeting. We went with our second choice, but it would have been nice to simply alter the greeting and send out our first choice.

The final option we were offered was to upload our address book and have TinyPrints print out the envelopes as well (envelopes come free with your order - one envelope per card, with extras available for purchase). You can also have TinyPrints send them out for you. While I see the appeal for things like invitations, I'm old-fashioned enough to want to include notes and hand-sign most (if not all) of our announcements (and holiday cards, when the time comes). (Edited — I have a newborn — handwritten notes did not happen in the interest of getting them in the mail while the child could still be classified as a newborn.)

Overall, I am impressed with the product and the service and will likely use it again. If you've got a baby on the way, certainly enter for a chance to have a bit of your expense covered (babies are expensive!). And if you don't have a baby on the way...there are birthdays and holidays and parties and thank yous and photo books to be had over at their site. Definitely check it out.

BUY IT!

You can purchase your own Birth Announcements at TinyPrints, starting as low as $0.79/card. TinyPrints is also offering a $10 discount on your first order when you subscribe to their newsletter. Be sure to check out their Promotions Page for more coupon codes and deals.

WIN IT!

For your own chance to win a $75 GIFT CERTIFICATE from TinyPrints, enter by leaving a comment and using our Rafflecopter system below. The winner will receive a $75 gift certificate toward the purchase of Birth Announcements or other custom stationery from TinyPrints. Contest is open to the US & Canada.

MANDATORY ENTRY: Visit TinyPrints and tell us another item you like! You must enter your name and email address in the Rafflecopter entry system for your entry to count, after leaving a comment on this blog post.

Leave a valid email address so we can contact you if you win. Email addresses in Rafflecopter are not made publicly visible. Please leave the same valid email address in your mandatory comment so we can verify entries. This is a joint giveaway with Embrita Blogging and Natural Parents Network. You may enter at one site only, and we'll be recording IP addresses to ensure that there are no duplicate entries. That said, please do visit and enjoy both sites!   BONUS ENTRIES: See the Rafflecopter entry system for bonus entries to increase your chance of winning after completing the mandatory entry. All bonus entries are entered directly into Rafflecopter. Give it a try, and email or leave a comment if you have any questions! a Rafflecopter giveaway  

Contest closes Saturday, October 6, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time.

 

Disclosure: Our reviewer received a sample product for review purposes. Tiny Prints links are affiliate links. We try to seek out only products we think you would find relevant and useful to your life as a natural parent. If we don't like a product, we won't be recommending it to you. See our full disclosure policy here.

  __________________________________

  Emily just welcomed the newest member of her family and is currently existing in a newborn fog. She writes, creates, cooks, and sings (badly) in sunny Northern California.

Super Undies: A Review

***The product in question was provided by the company for the purposes of review. The opinions are purely those of mine and my family.***

(Adding pictures to the bath/bed routine also added a dimension of chaos. 

This is our best picture of the undies.)

About a month or so ago, I heard through the blogger grapevine that Super Undies was looking for testers. Since we are THROUGH with diapers (I'm more through than Baz, but that's a whole other thing) I contacted them. 

Long story short: we ended up with a pair of Nightime Undies for testing. They arrived in the mail and I could tell from the bulk that they meant business. And let me tell you, folks, this kid's bladder has always been remarkable in its production. His kidneys work just fine, thankyouverymuch.

I ran them through a pre-wash (we wash everything before we wear it) and immediately realized they were going to take twice as long to dry as our previous nighttime solution (in diapers: he was wearing a fitted with a doubler and a wool cover. Lately, he's been in night time disposable pull ups.)

So the NEXT night, we put them to the test.

Here's what we thought:

*Baz enjoys them - he's not generally a fan of disposables for non-pooping purposes, and he liked being able to pull them on by himself. 

*They're bulky without being gigantic - so they fit under his regular pajamas

*The bulk means they take forever to dry, and due to our lack of a recent cloth diaper routine, I found myself wishing we had more than one pair so that I didn't have to wash every day/supplement with pull ups. (At roughly $30/pair, though, they're certainly an investment. The real test will be how they hold up for Rerun when he's at this stage in 2-3 years.)

*Some nights he wet right through them. But, considering he's still not waking at night to potty, and he's leaked through every night diaper "solution" out there - I'm not remotely surprised, nor do I blame the Super Undies. Most nights, he did not wet through them. (He's also been sick, so the most recent wet-through could be a fluke completely related to all the fluids we've been pushing.)

*They're cute without being babyish. Let me just say that when your kid decides to be a Big Kid and not a Baby anymore - everything needs to reflect that or you'll get a lot of push-back in the form of: "Don't like dat! Dat's for baby!" The simple color blocking is appealing. (Not that we'd turn down a digger or race car pattern - he is still a boy, after all.)

*If we were at the beginning of our Potty Training endeavor, I would also pick up some of the pull-on undies for long car rides and days when we're just out running errands all day. We're a cloth diaper family and the cloth trainer options are few and far between.

All in all, a strong thumbs up from everyone. 

Go check them out! 

(Their website has helpful videos and much more information than I gave here - but I only wanted to talk about our experience, obviously.)

See? They fit under plain-ol' firetruck jammies.