BabyLove here! I'm four weeks away from turning 30, and I'm on a mission.  Since losing 24 lbs. last year on The Fresh Diet, I've successfully maintained my current weight.  With the big day quickly approaching, I'm gearing up to lose twelve more pounds.  I'm looking forward to taking a break from dieting. It's been almost three years, and I'm mentally exhausted.

I've decided to try some new things.  I'm a super duper creature of habit, and I get nervous in unfamiliar situations, where I could potentially make a total jack ass of myself.  Tonight, however, I bit the bullet and dragged one of my besties to a karate class at my son's school.  My husband goes to the class almost every night.  He comes home drenched in sweat, and exhausted.  Just his tales of pushups and sit ups, and high knees make me tired.  And every night he comes home telling me how much I'd love it.  For awhile, I really tried to figure out what I had done to give him the impression that I loved pushups, sit ups, and high knees. I don't.  I like to run slow, listen to the same music, and then bitch and moan about why my weight loss stalls.  Basically, I like to talk a big game, and then take absolutely no accountability for why my jeans still fit tight in the bum.

Chrissy and I go into karate expecting a disaster.  We bow a few times, run in some circles, do some pushups, jumping jacks, sit ups, really anything that you don't feel like doing.  I was sweaty and out of breath, but felt really good.  We did some punching bag work, and combos, and some more pushups and sit ups.  Then, something really interesting happened.  The instructor took out these fake knives, and set us up with a potential attacker scenario.  We were taught how to defend ourselves.  This is so important for women to learn because it can be life saving.  The sad part is, I'm definitely 1,000x safer now, then I was in my early twenties.  I cannot tell you how many times I left a bar, and walked into a dark parking lot alone.  Or how many times I lived on the same coed floor in college where the girl two doors down from me was raped by her "friend.¨  I'm turning thirty, and this is the first time I've learned any sort of self defense, and right now, I'm the safest I've probably been in ten years.

BabyLove here!  Do you know that William’s favorite place on earth is Target?  One time when we were in Florida, and on our way to Disney World, William suggested that instead of going to see Mickey that we instead go to Target.  My husband and I were shopping there the other day, and we ran into Alex, William’s best friend from school.  I was sure that if William had been there he would have died of happiness seeing his best friend in his favorite store.

I’ve had my eye on the Episencial line for a while now.  My interest was initially sparked when a friend told me that their eczema cream had worked wonders on her nephew.  So, needless to say, when their rep. agreed to send some products, I was thrilled.  I really enjoy highlighting products that are readily available to everyone.

It’s hard to ignore Episencial because their packaging is just so darn cute.  The artwork is created by Eric Carle, author of the popular children’s book, The Very Hungry Catepillar.  Showing a little caterpillar inching its way out of a piece of fruit (the fruit varies depending on the product), the bright colors are so eye catching.  Even if I hadn’t heard any recommendations of this line, the package alone would make me believe I was buying something great.

Baby Love here!  There are so many things that I love about this next line of products from TruKid!  It might be my new absolute favorite children’s line.  TruKid is awesome, affordable, 100% safe, and did I mention awesome?

Jennifer Bunker Adams, a working mother of 6……wait, did I just type “a working mother of 6?”  Let me double check this.  Oh thank god, she was actually a working mother of 5 with another one on the way.  I feel so much better about myself now.  Looking for ways to protect her own children’s skin, TruKid was born out of necessity and out of a need to fill a major market gap in non-toxic products suitable for young kids and their delicate skin.  As a result, all of TruKid’s products are BPA, phthalate, SLS, paraben, 1-4 Dioxane (a group 2B carcinogen), and Gluten free.  100% natural and certified organic, the Environmental Working Group recently gave TruKid’s entire line a safety rating of 0-3.

We were so luck to receive a full round up of Jennifer’s most popular items.  Our reviewers got a chance to use TruKid’s Silly Shampoo, Cool Condition, Bubbly Body Wash, Friendly Face Wash, Dancing Detangler (running out of breath), and Sunny Days SPF 30 sunscreen.  Even the packaging of this line is amazing.   Each bottle has a unique learning system, coding each bottle with a picture of the part of the body the product is intended for!  William absolutely loved this.  He could flex his “big brother muscles,” and instruct Calum on exactly how to use each different item.    For the first time ever, I could actually leave my products lying around since the boys had absolutely no interest in using them.

So aside from the packaging being superbly genius, these products worked beautifully.  William, aka walking rash, had no reaction from this line.  The shampoo and the conditioner left the boy’s hair soft and shiny, and even in the dead of this awful New England weather, the body and face wash did a great job at keeping their skin  moisturized.  I always love the look of really shiny, clean little kid hair.  It’s got that shimmer that you just can’t get back!

We were on vacation in Mexico last week, I had a great opportunity to use the Sunny Days SPF 30 sunscreen stick.  It was perfect for the nose, lips, ears.  I will definitely be carrying this with me on future vacations, and onto the sports field this Summer.  I love that it can easily be slipped into your pocket or pocketbook!  It lasted hours in the water, and I loved that I could clearly see where I had used the stick.

BabyLove here!  Are you ever shocked by what you are capable of doing as a mom?  The other day I was eating a turkey sandwich when William called me from the bathroom to wipe his bum.  I put the sandwich down, wiped his bum, washed my hands, and continued eating.  It wasn't until later that evening that I found myself utterly amazed by what I had done.   Five years ago, the thought of wiping a bum would have made me gag.  NOW, however, I'm quite able to wipe bums and eat at almost the exact same time?..Disgusting, and probably
not a resume builder.  This topic, gross things we do for our kids, leads me to the only thing that I really can't handle as a mother, and that's boogers. Nasty booger noses make me gag.  Runny, green snot noses aren't allowed in my house which is why last year I turned to BOOGIE WIPES!

Last winter both of my kids had 6 ear infections a piece.  Most commonly an ear infection follows a cold, and is the result of improper drainage.  So for each ear infection that my boys suffered from, a nasty cold came first.  Each cold was worse than the one before, and the red, raw nose that lasted long after the infection was gone, really did a number on William's willingness to blow his nose.  One day in Target, I came across a package of what I thought were wipes, but turned out to be SO MUCH MORE.

Boogie Wipes are made with saline, vitamin e, aloe, and chamomile.  The saline acts as a dissolvent for those gross, stuck on boogies and the vitamin e, aloe, and chamomile soothe and prevent chapped noses.  They are packaged in a small, travel size wipes package with an actual lid to prevent them from drying out.  I?ve carried these in my baby bag, my pocket book, and kept them in my glove compartment.  They smell soo good, just like Hubba Bubba Grape bubble gum, and best of all, kids love them because they DON'T HURT.  These wipes have become a staple in my life, and it's such a shame because most moms don't even know they exist-until now of course!

BabyLove here! A big thank you to everyone who commented on last weeks article.  I don't feel so alone now knowing that a lot of you are as boring as me. I'd like to announce that as of tonight, I am officially done shopping.The stress of the holiday season has forced me into an eating frenzy, but thankfully I'll take these next few weeks to decompress.

I've gotten another drugstore baby product that is affordable to everyone, and can be found almost everywhere.  I have to admit, that I've been dying to try this line, and with unsuccessful attempts to get some product for my list, I decided to buy it myself.  Hopefully, I'll sweeten my proposition to their pr firm by reviewing them anyway.

If you haven't tried a Yes to Carrots, Yes to Cucumbers, Yes to Tomatoes, and recently added Yes to Blueberries product, then you're probably living under a rock somewhere.  All three of these lines combine high quality fruits and vegetables with a mineral elixir from the Dead Sea to create quality products that nourish and hydrate skin and hair.  100% natural, Yes to Carrots baby carrots line is also tear free, hypoallergenic, paraben, petroleum, and SLS free.  It's super affordable at $7.99, and convenient since it's another 2 in 1 product that us mothers love.  The line is a perfect gift set for a mother to be where it includes a lotion, diaper cream, and bubble bath.

BabyLove here!  The joy of the holiday season is bearing down on me, and I’m suffocating.  I started shopping the first week of November, and honestly, I’m not even close to being done.  I feel like I have a whole bunch of small pieces to each gift, but I haven’t been able to put together the entire puzzle.

Two weeks ago, I went shopping with my friend and her sister to Toys R Us.  We split up, did our shopping, and got back together at the checkout lines. Both of their carts were full of all sorts of great ideas, and I looked through them with envy.  My cart was full of cars, and transformers, and theirs were full of magical toys that I never even considered buying.  Even my mother picks out better toys for my kids than I do.  I used to think that it was because I wasn’t creative, but I think it’s worse than that, I think I’m boring.

I thought back over the past few years, and it turns out, I’m constantly giving the same lame gifts year after year.  For example, my mother gets sweaters and jeans, my in-laws get airline vouchers, my nieces and nephews get Visa gift cards, and my sister gets something that I look at and longingly wish to wear, but will never be able to.  I usually throw a pair of pajamas and slippers into the mix, but never stray too far from the “list.”  I love good ideas and neat gifts, but the thought of buying something that someone doesn’t like really stresses me out.  Unless I’m given specific instructions about a make, model number, and color of something someone has their eye on, I pace the aisles of stores in complete panic.  So, once I find a good fit for someone, they should expect to receive that gift in an assortment of colors for the remainder of their lifetime.

BabyLove here!  I was in need of a “fill in” product this week.  To be honest, I’m stocked full of great new products, but needed a week to organize them and get them out to everyone!  So this morning when I was at Target, I picked up Suave Kids 3 in 1 shampoo, conditioner, and body wash in wacky watermelon. I bought a 22.5 fl. ounce bottle for $2.55.

I’m not a product snob.  I’ll try all sorts of things, and truthfully, I receive these ten dollar body washes for free.  If I wasn’t getting these products for Meg’s, there is only a handful that I’d be willing to go out and spend the money on.  My boys are sort of over bath time at the moment, and look forward to taking long showers.  They take their cars in, and slam them against the walls, and if I’m not careful, take every bath product available and squeeze them out.  I learned the hard and expensive way that it’s best to remove anything you do not want touched before the shower goes on.  So to be fair to everyone, I’m going to start picking up some slightly more reasonably priced products, available to pretty much everyone.

With cold season upon us, snotty noses are all the rage in my house.  So when we got back from Target this morning, William and Calum jumped in the shower with their new Transformer cars to wage war against the good and bad, and boogers.  It was my perfect chance to try the Suave that I had just picked up, and with a 3 in 1 product it was hard to go wrong.  Since William likes to be in charge (he’s like his mother), he usually instructs Calum as to which product goes where.  However, with this stuff, there wasn’t much more than, “wash everywhere."

Baby Love here!  I always feel like a pervert or a sex addict when I buy massage oils.  I kind of equate it to when I’d have to buy a box of condoms.  I look at the 16 year old kid ringing me up and think, “I wonder if he thinks I’m going to use this for, ya know?”  The truth is, sometimes you can use sensual massage oils for non sensual purposes.

We love, love, love Aura Cacia here at Meg’s.  We have had the pleasure of reviewing their body creams, kid’s washes, and bath salts.  So, when I was at our local apothecary the other day, and my eyes fell upon, “Sensual Jasmine Aromatherapy Massage oil,” I knew I had to try it.  I love oils.  I use them in my hair, on my face for a moisturizer, and most recently discovered that I prefer to use them as a moisturizer for my feet, legs, elbows, and hands in the cold New England winter months.  When I got home with my new purchase, I immediately saw my husband’s interest perk.  “Is that for us?” he asked.   I said, “Yes, you can massage my feet later on.”

The scent of jasmine has long been considered an aphrodisiac and a women’s oil.  It is thought to have hormonal balancing properties, and has been in the past rubbed onto the abdomen of women who are in labor.  Aroma- therapists believe that jasmine is a natural anti-depressant, which helps in opening pleasant pathways and reducing fears.  After learning all of this, I thought about drinking my bottle, but decided against it.

I’m so grateful that the majority of the world knows what Jasmine smells like and that I don’t have to try and explain it.  We can all agree, hopefully, that it smells pretty glorious.  After I took my first run in almost six months, and the urge to vomit passed, I jumped right into the shower, looking forward to having a chance to dip into my new purchase.  When I applied this to my body, all of the dry parts pretty much drank it right up.  I worked it in with very little mess, and I smelled so good.  The scent lingered in the rooms that I passed through almost the entire night.  My mother actually asked me if I had a new candle burning.  I know I’m making it sound like the smell was overwhelming, but it wasn’t.  It was just a calm, minimal scent. Some creams have such a potent smell, but these essential oils are just perfect.  It did leave me feeling content, but unfortunately for my husband I didn’t go looking for him to tear his clothes off!

Baby Love here!  I love finding a good deal.  Sometimes I start to wonder if I’m cheap, and then I look at my bank account and realize that there’s no way I can be.  I’m not a bargain shopper, but I really like finding good, effective products that save me some dough.  For example, I still have to use Dreft for William’s laundry.  It’s $15 a bottle, and honestly, I don’t have the time to separate all of our laundry so I can wash his clothes separately from everyone else’s.  So I guess it’s fair to say that we all use Dreft.  Anyway, I was at the supermarket last year, and I found the store brand version of it for $4.99.  I tell all of my friends that are new moms, and I guess it proves that I really don’t have a great deal of excitement in my life since I get so passionate about saving $10 on laundry detergent.

Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day products are another one of those lines that gets me really wound up.  Natural and organic products are usually twice as much money as things that are not.  I like to buy organic meat and poultry, and I expect to pay $9.00 as opposed to $4.75 for three chicken breasts.  I also like to buy organic and natural products to use on my children, or on cleaning products that clean things like the tub and dishwasher.  Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day allows me the peace of mind that comes along with buying natural products, while also saving me from going broke.  All of their products are comparatively priced to the others that are stock full of harsh chemicals, and fragrances.   Made from mostly plant derived ingredients, essential oils, and safe synthetics, Mrs. Meyer's products contain no solvents, petroleum distillates, bleach, phosphates, or ingredients that could cause harsh fumes.

Baby Love here!  Have you ever had a product that makes you feel fancy?  I mean, I might be the least fancy pants person on the planet, but sometimes I use a product that makes me feel 100 times more important than I really am.  It doesn't have to be the most expensive sought after product either. Sometimes it's just the packaging of an item that will allow me to think I'm more sophisticated than I actually am.

When Megan and I were in New York City over the summer, we had a chance to catch up with our friends at our favorite PR firms.  At these meetings, we tell them what is going on with the site, and they introduce us to the new lines they represent.  Needless to say, we leave with a lot of goodies to play around with!  On one of our stops, I was given a baby sampler from a line called LaVanila.  Oooh la la, this stuff makes me feel really swanky, and it's not even supposed to be for me!