mommy blogs

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Full Circle


The Hydration Collection includes five environmentally responsible and innovative water bottles.

Full Circle is a brand that “balances style, function, sustainability and affordability in every single product.”  The company creates green products for the home made with eco-friendly materials and a fair amount of panache, too.

031115_CRTPost_FullCircle_BthechangeFull Circle is a Certified B Corporation, one of over 750 from more than 60 industries in 27 countries that uses its muscle to solve social and environmental problems. The goal is to redefine success in business.

Full Circle makes products for cleaning, wiping, sweeping, scrubbing and drinking that not only get the job done, they’re stylish, functional products made from sustainable and renewable resources.

Which can only be great for families and their homes, yes?

Drink Up

031115_CRTPost_FullCircle_WaterCucumberI especially like the Wherever Water Cucumber water bottle that “turns any cucumber into beautiful green spirals that deliciously infuse your water with subtle flavor,” and the

031115_CRTPost_FullCircle_WaterLemonWherever Water Lemon water bottle, equipped with a built-in lemon reamer to easily add lemon essence to your drink.

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Babyhome’s New Products


030415_CRTPost_Babyhome_Air-purple+cloudBabyhome’s newest bassinet model is called Air and it comes complete with an easily attachable changing pad that can also be removed with just one hand –allowing parents to multi-task to their heart’s content. Air also has a practical mesh window hidden on its side under the fabric for better ventilation and the side pockets are the perfect way to keep everything organized and at hand.

Air for Travel

Air is ideal for use in smaller quarters or during the first months of a baby’s life in the bedroom with mom and dad. It’s light weight and easy of assemble, too –with an innovative adjustable leg system that changes from stationary to a rocker to wheels with the click of a button. Air comes with a high-density, totally airtight and waterproof foam mattress that prevents the baby from getting caught between the edge of the mattress and side of the bassinet and a honeycomb structured mattress pad that is safe and breathable.

Introducing Wave 

030415_CRTPost_Babyhome_wave_walnut_clayWave is an innovative bounce chair, that’s stylish enough to blend in to a contemporary, modern décor. Wave’s structure, which features simple, soft lines, turns its design into one of the warmest and most comfortable for baby on the market.  It offers a pleasant, steady, front-to-back rocking motion which relaxes baby to ensure their utmost restfulness and also comes with the option of a stationary position. Wave folds easily and compactly so it can be stored in small areas.

Based in Barcelona, Spain, Babyhome’s award-winning, highly designed, extremely functional and lightweight baby products are made with the utmost attention to function and safety. Babyhome’s U.S. offices are located in Budd Lake, New Jersey.

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Cricket’s Circle


A baby registry with interactive, hand-holding features for new parents.

022515_CRTPost_CricketsCircle_CLogo - CopyIn less than a year since its launch, Rachel Blumenthal, founder and CEO of Cricket’s Circle, is living up to her promise of simplifying the baby registry process for parents-to-be by combining a holistic, interactive registry with personalized content.

“We created Cricket’s Circle to give every expectant and new parent their own ‘Cricket,’ a one-stop shoppable resource for trusted product recommendations and helpful advice.”

In January, Cricket’s Circle expanded to eCommerce, launching its baby registry service. The company researches and tests products, and then –along with parent-knowledge-narrows down the vast array of baby products to three recommendations per category, all in an effort to make shopping easier for parents. They even partner with retailers to get the top baby and toddler items into one registry and shopping cart. What’s more, Cricket’s Circle’s blog is fully shop-able, too.

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Earlier in her career, Rachel worked for Yves Saint Laurent, jeweler brand Rachel Leigh and eyewear company Warby Parker, which is cofounded by her husband Neil –as well as having her their son, Griffin, before creating Cricket’s Circle. As a new mom and entrepreneur, Rachel is in the business of giving and receiving advice – she welcomes yours, too, at rachel@cricketscircle.com or share your comments on social.

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Happy Birthday, Raggedy Ann!


“Fairyland must be filled with rag dolls, soft loppy rag dolls who go through all the beautiful adventures found there nestling in the crook of a dimpled arm.”

-Raggedy Ann doll creator Johnny Gruelle

Plush toy, gift and doll manufacturer Aurora World Inc.® is celebrating Raggedy Ann’s 100th birthday! The company just introduced brand new, “Stars and Stripes” special edition Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy rag dolls to the market that feature an all-American, red, white and blue theme, exclusive 100th year embroidery and commemorative hangtags on every doll.

Raggedy Ann’s Betsy Ross-inspired white shawl collar, printed dress with navy and white stars and elastic cap are reminiscent of the bygone era while Raggedy Andy’s Uncle Sam-inspired outfit features a matching printed jacket top, red twill bow-tie and pants, and his classic matching sailor hat.

021815_CRT_RaggedyAnnClassic“The Stars and Stripes dolls celebrate the goodwill, kindness and compassion that the Raggedy Ann doll creator Johnny Gruelle envisioned for the people of our nation,” says Michael Kessler, senior vice president of sales and marketing at Aurora.

The Stars and Stripes dolls, complete with their signature red yard hair, are available in large sizes and feature custom cotton, embroidered fabrics, finely detailed faces with button eyes and exclusive outfits highlighting the birthday of Raggedy Ann – perfect for collectors.

Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy dolls are part of Aurora’s ever-expanding soft doll category featuring dozens of award-winning doll designs including the Sea Sparkles™ mermaid collection, fashionable Sweet Lollies™, new Cutie Curls™, ballerinas and activity dolls for toddlers. As part of the birthday celebration, the company gave away a three-foot Raggedy Ann doll at the recent Toy Fair New York in February. “Stars and Stripes” special edition Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy rag dolls are available now in stores everywhere.

021815_CRTPost_RaggedyAnnAnniversary

 

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Kid President


021115_CRTPost_KidPresident_SealIf you haven’t been introduced, please say hi to the Tiny President of the United States.

Kid President, aka über adorable Robby Novak and Brad Montague (the guy behind the scenes of his videos and new book), is a fabulous fixture on actor Rainn Wilson’s website, SoulPancake.

Wise beyond his years and wonderful to boot, his new book, Kid President’s Guide to Being Awesome is now available. Take a look:

The book launch also introduces an awesome challenge: The #BookItForward Campaign, which promotes literacy. Kid President spells it out for us:

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THE PROBLEM In low-income neighborhoods, there is only one book for every 300 children.

THE SOLUTION Access to books and other reading materials greatly increases a student’s chance of success in school. Create an anonymous and free “take one, leave one” book drop to donate reading materials to those who may need it most.

WHAT YOU GET Sign up for facts on literacy and tips on starting your own community book swap with Kid President … Plus, you’ll enter for the chance to win a seasonal $10,000 scholarship!

How will you #BookItForward? What story has inspired your life? Help Kid President get 10,000 people to gift someone a book they love. Let’s be AWESOME, people!

Share on Facebook: http://on.fb.me/1DzbuwU  and Twitter: http://bit.ly/1w1ojKs

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Knot Genie Detangling Brush


This hairbrush detangles knotty hair without pain.

Found in 4,000 salons and boutiques worldwide, Knot Genie is designed to help kids brush their hair without pain or breakage. The flexible bristles simply glide through hair – making life easier for everyone –girls, boys and parents, too.

Rikki Mor endured years of hair-brushing battles every morning when her three daughters refused to brush their hair. So she invented a hairbrush with different lengths of teeth that bend when brushing, to gently untangle the hair. What’s more, Knot Genie’s unique cloud-shaped top fits into the palm of a hand –like it is made that way, whether you’re right or left handed. This is one tough yet gentle grooming tool!

121014_CRTPost_KnotGenie_04The Knot Genie folks tell me they’ve gained a rather cult-like following among Moms, that’s reaching teens and tweens, too. They say, “People are finally realizing that not just any brush will do when it comes to taking care of their hair.”

121014_CRTPost_KnotGenieI’ll say; it’s the Knot Genie that makes knots in hair magically disappear.

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Bubele


Small family-owned and operated business dreams up big ideas for babies –and parents, too.

120314_CRTPost_Bubele_02Bubele means “sweet baby,” and Bubele, Inc. is the brain child of founder/owner Kris Weisblatt. Kris tells me she started her baby company in 2007 after suffering a traumatic brain injury during delivery of her youngest son, Evan.

“I was in a coma for two weeks,” Kris says. “After receiving therapy, I returned home and everyday things were now more difficult to accomplish. Taking care of a newborn, I found the need for items that were not available on the market.”

120314_CRTPost_Bubele_03Kris decides to go after her dreams, starting her very own clothing line. “I designed a Pacifier Snappy™ to replace the pacifier clip that has snaps in place of a clip, so babies cannot pull that binky off and throw it.”

In addition to the redesigned Pacifier Snappy, Bubele also carries a fun Mix & Match clothing line. Kris designs the Bubele Bib with an attached neck roll to wick milk away and the stretchy, oversize Wrap to swaddle newborns more easily. And she doesn’t stop there.

120314_CRTPost_Bubele_08She creates the patent pending Bubele Loop, sewn into each side seam of her body suits and tops – one of her best ideas. “The simple concept keeps pacifier clips from slipping,” she says. This is her signature invention, one that sets Bubele apart from all the rest!

Kris continues to run her small family-owned and operated Bubele that she starts on a zero budget, using her own fabrics and sewing machine … only now, she has more time to focus on her innovative, modern designs.

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Children’s Museum of Indianapolis


The Children’s Museum Store polls kid-experts to determine the top 10 toys for the 2014 holiday shopping season.

Parents are always looking for gifts to give during the holidays that are as special as their children. It can be a daunting task: find something educational that appeals to a child’s creativity, their sense of adventure, their unique ability to build something cool.

Don’t forget to browse your local children’s museums! Oftentimes, the best stuff can be found at museum shops –toys that have a special something you can’t find anywhere else. These gifts can also give back: to the community, to other children, to support the museum’s mission. How cool is that?

For 16 years, the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis has conducted the Kid-tested, Kid Approved event. Local kids of all ages are invited to visit The Museum Store to play with and then vote on their favorite toys. Thirty of the store’s most popular toys are offered up as potential picks, and the kids get to check all of them out, right there in the store … until they decide which ones will make the top 10 list of fun, unique and educational toys that the kids love best –and parents can add to their own lists for holiday shopping. Here, this year’s Kid-Tested, Kid Approved selections are listed in order of most votes:

  1. Super Slam Basketball
  2. Original Flying Turtle
  3. Foxfire Glow Phantoms Thinking Putty
  4. Hoberman Switch Pitch
  5. Snap Circuits – Motion
  6. Mini OgoDisk Set
  7. Switchback Racetrack
  8. Hexbug Aquabots
  9. Playmobil My Secret Play Box – Dragon`s Lair
  10. Take ‘N’ Play Anywhere Fashion Spotlight Magnetic Playset

112614_CRTPost_ChildrensMuseumLogoWith the Kid-Tested, Kid Approved initiative, the museum hopes to lend a hand to parents who are looking to discover what most interests their children, straight from the kids themselves. Each Kid-Tested, Kid Approved selection is available for purchase at the Museum’s award-winning store and online retail site. On each individual online product page, read real reviews from the kid-expert testers and other clues for each toy’s rank. What’s more – all purchases help support the museum’s mission.

As the Children’s Museum tells you, start shopping with confidence – now you know what your kids want and you know what they like!

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Itsy Bitsy Knots


New children’s label wraps up classy special occasionwear with a bow.

112014_CRTPost_ItsyBitsyKnots_01Nosh Khurram (aka Nosh Kay) recently launched a new –and fun- fashion label for kids called Itsy Bitsy Knots – gorgeous little bow ties especially for boys, but girls will love ‘em, too, I bet.

Perfect for the Holidays. Like so many Moms out there, Nosh got tired of the slim pickins when it comes to boy’s dress-up, so she did something about it. Each one of her bow tie designs uses colorful fabrics in 100% cotton, silk or wool. Nosh tells me her inspiration for the designs “comes from an era when dressing up was an essential part of everyday life,” she says. They’re classy and traditional with a modern twist. Nice!

112014_CRTPost_ItsyBitsyKnots_03As she gives parents everywhere a wonderful option to dress up their kids, Nosh also wants to support causes that are close to her heart. A percentage of every bow tie sold will be given to a children’s charity. Bravo!

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Suzy’s Zoo


Happy Halloween from Suzy’s Zoo, the home of Suzy Ducken, Jack Quaker, Corky Turtle and all the cute and wonderful characters created by Suzy Spafford.

103114_CRTPost_Happy Halloween_Jano(They’re all getting ready for “trick or treat” in the photo above). Suzy the human says her mission in life is making people happy, and I agree, since I’ve sent many-a-Suzy’s Zoo card to loved ones and friends . My dear husband thinks I look like one of Suzy’s cute ducks (I’m including a picture that may show how right he is!) … wouldn’t it be fun if Suzy had Halloween costumes for big kids like me?

Cards, Books, Coloring, Games and more.