The season for bugs and all things crawlie

Kids are odd; C is not a huge fan of bugs at all in the least, in fact he is often terrified by them but he could not have been happier to receive the Bug Book and Bottle and Bugs Fandex by Workman Publishing. Paired together these two products make way for a great afternoon of bug finding, gathering and identifying. I had planned on making a day for the two boys together to go out and have some bug finding fun together but before I could C showed up with a friend begging to take the products out and go on their own bug hunt. Their bug hunting went fantastically and the two boys were solidly into it for close to a week which is an eternity in tween boy time.

The Bug Book and Bottle comes with a plastic container with holes in the lid to gather and keep your bugs in, a magnifier, bug identification chart, bug journal (to record all of your finds) and the bug book. The Bug Book is filled with with 47 fascinating bugs inside, how to catch, identify and care for insects and other creepy crawlies. The only flaw that C noted with the Bug Bottle was that he wished the lid would stay on more tightly so he taped it shut.

The Bugs Fandex consists of 50 die-cut cards on a fan-deck. The top of each card is a giant creepy picture of each bug and below and on the reverse are interesting facts about each bug. Overall these are two fabulous products to keep your bored kids busy this summer.


The Bug Book and Bottle retails for $13.68 CAD and the Bugs Fandex retails for $10.79 CAD they can both be purchased at Chapters.Indigo.ca in Canada and Barnes and Noble in the US.

Bath time stress no more

The thought of bathing a newborn in a tub makes me so nervous. Those squirmy tiny little delicate bodies, never mind adding soap and water to the mix making them oh ever so slippery. Then add a tub over water that you hope to not drop them into. Yes I know I have had 2 kids already but the newborn bath is a scary little game for many mothers no matter how many babes they have. Well fear no more moms, Belly Laf's Grippee's are here to save the day. These adult sized bath mitts not only help wash your little one with it's ultra soft 100% biodegradable, antibacterial and hypoallergenic bamboo fabric but the little rubberized grippee's on the mitts help you hold on to that slippery little package making bath time a breeze so you can enjoy that special one on one time instead of stressing about it. I absolutely love these bath mitts and cannot wait to use them with my future babe. Belly Laf's also has MiniMitts for the older babes. Made of the same eco-friendly bamboo fabric as the Grippee's; MiniMitt's are thumbless easy on/off wash mitt's aimed at the 2-5 age group to help encourage good hygiene skills. L being at the very independent 2 year old stage loves his MiniMitt's. They make him feel like a big kid and he loves have the option at doing things himself and bathing himself is no different. Both the Grippee's and MiniMitt's are adorned with cute and friendly looking creatures of the sea such as Rocko the Crab, Zippo the Blowfish, Echo the Whale, Glo the Jellyfish and Cosmo the Starfish; they are all made of colorful geometric shapes combined together to create characters that appeal to children and hold their attention. They are also machine washer and dryer friendly.


Belly Laf's Grippee's retail at $16.95 US and the MiniMitt's retail at $9.95 US. You can purchase them through their online US based store, the ship to both US and Canada. Also whenever you purchase a Belly Laf product, Belly LAf will donate 10% of the profits to the Hide & Seek Foundation, a non-profit organization that raises money for research into deadly childhood diseases.

Bling to teeth on, fashion at it's best

I used to wear a lot of jewelry; I couldn't leave the house with out some earrings, a necklace or two and maybe some bracelets. Having L though put an end to my jewelry wearing days though. First it was too much of a hassle, then he was grabby and now everything is his according to him. One product I really love and came in handy was Smart Mom Teething Bling. Smart Mom makes safe jewelry for mamas to wear and their teething babes to chew on. I have the donut shaped pendant and bangle in Jade and they are very stylish no one would even know that they are teething toys in disguise. Even when L was passed the teething stage he was happily kept occupied playing with my bangle or pendant. All Smart Mom Teething Bling products are non-toxic, phthalate, BPA, PVC and lead free and all pendants come with a breakaway clasp. They are easily washed with soap and water if they do get dirty or you are worried about germs. I've had mine for quite a while now and they still look as good as new. Smart Mom also carries heart shaped pendants, keychains, onesies, gift sets and gift cards. They are available in a variety of colors and even patterns.
Smart Mom Teething Bling donut shaped pendants retail starting at $19.10 US (right now though they have red,white and blue pendants sale for $9.50 US on their website), the bangles retail at $12.75 US. They can be purchased online at their US based website and yes they do ship to both US and Canada or see here for a list of retailers in the US or Canada.