Takin' Care of Twins Reviews and Giveaways

Bummas Wipes Giveaway Winner

2010-09-01T20:36:00.000-07:00

Congrats to #32, Kim D. Please email me in the next 24 hours, or I will move onto the next person! Thanks!

Within the next week or so, I will be merging both blogs back together because it's just been a little much for me keeping up with both of them, and I plan on only posting reviews/giveaways one day a week to help limit the amount of space that they take up on the blog though. Thanks for understanding.

Much love,
Carrie

Want another entry into the Bummas cloth wipe giveaway?

2010-08-26T07:48:00.000-07:00

If you want another entry into the Bummas cloth wipe giveaway, go vote for our video in the "What Does EcoMom Mean to Me" video contest!

Just click the "like" button on the youTube video page and come back and comment on the Bummas wipes post that you voted for our video! You can vote once per computer that you own!

Thanks!
Carrie

What EcoMom Means to Me Video Contest!

2010-08-25T16:38:00.000-07:00

I made a video (with Anora as my helper!) for the "What EcoMom Means to Me" Video contest.

You can vote for us by clicking the "like" button! :-D The top five videos each win a $200 EcoMom.com gift card. We loved reviewing their products, so I'm super excited to be a part of this contest!

It literally takes two seconds to vote (just click the "like" button on the YouTube video page).

Thanks!

Carrie

GlammaToys/Kimochis Giveaway Winner

2010-08-21T10:39:00.000-07:00

Congrats to Anthy! You've won the Kimochis doll and extra emotion pack! Please email me and let me know your mailing address.

Thanks so much for entering! And, be sure to enter my Bummas cloth wipes giveaway!

Much love,
Carrie

Bad Genes Review

2010-08-17T22:02:00.000-07:00

About the company: At Bad Genes, dedication to the eco-friendly movement is at the forefront of everyone's minds. They strive to give their customers the means to express each person's individual environmental issues and concerns through art, on a canvas made from organic bamboo and cotton. This very luxurious yet eco-friendly and sustainable fabric seemed to be a good starting point to demonstrate that even the nicer things in life can be earth friendly. Their ridiculously fashionable and comfortable clothing also serves a larger purpose, both through raising awareness about environmental issues and by giving a portion of all of their sales to charity.

How eco-friendly are they really?

Organic and sustainable fabrics
Water and soy based inks and dyes
Manufacturing using renewable energy and energy efficient machines
Recycled packaging
Recycled office supplies and business cards
USPS shipping
Word of mouth and electronic marketing only

About the products: Bad Genes was great enough to send me TWO shirts to review. I picked out their "own less, live more" and "this is home" shirts. They are both super soft, comfy, and made out of organic cotton and bamboo. Does it get any better than that?!

The concept behind their "own less, live more" shirt is self-evident, but it really hits home with me. I've been participating in "Thursday Purge Day" on the main section of my blog, and I saw this shirt and knew that I had to have it. It's perfect. Why do we need so much crap? "Commercials work to convince us their products are essential to us and out families, they will make us look cool and be happy. Our happiness exists within ourselves. The only way to explore it is to disconnect our brains from our consumerist habits and to free our time and minds. The goal is to own less and live more." Bad Genes really hit the nail on the head with this shirt and my life! Perfect.

The "this is home" shirt is a little more complicated of a concept. "With a population of 6.6 billion and growing at an annual rate of nearly 80 million, we are pillaging out world and its resources in the name of consumerism and profits. With private corporations changing laws to cut down protected forests, nations cutting expenses by dumping waste into nature, and with very little emissions control regulations that help pollute our own air, we are blindly marching forward in the pursuit of wealth, business, and luxury. However, we have finally turned around and seen the destruction and pollution that we have left behind. We know we can't go on like this... So what do we do now?" So true, right?

Pros: These shirts are wonderful. I'm seriously in love with them. I'm a huge fan of organic fabrics and eco-friendly business practices. One small thing that I find amazing about Bad Genes is the fact that they sent these two shirts in a TINY box that was about 3in by 3in by 6in. They rolled them both up, shoved them in there, and off they went to me! Haha. It was so amazing that they fit, but I get so frustrated when "eco-friendly" companies ship their products in ways that don't really back up their business practices. Another big bonus with Bad Genes is that they make a donation with every.single.shirt purchased. Love that!

Cons: There are limited design options, though they have loads of ideas of other designs and seem to plan on expanding their product line soon. The only real con that I came across was that at the end of a long day of pulling the shirt up and down five HUNDRED times to let the twins nurse that the shape of the shirt loosens a little bit. However, this has happened with every.single.bamboo shirt that I've owned, and the shirts snap right into place after being washed. It takes a good part of the day for it to happen as well, so it wasn't inconvenient (and Dave said that he didn't even notice it).

As I am the photographer in my house, it was a bit ridiculous to try to get a picture of me actually wearing the shirts, but I did manage to get this one. LOVE these shirts! (And, I even have a cute "I'm taking a picture" face!)

Buy it! These shirts and several other designs can be purchased from the Bad Genes' website!

Much love,

Carrie

Please note: I received two Bad Genes t-shirts to review, and I received no compensation of any form for posting this review. The opinions expressed about this product are mine and mine alone. If you would like my complete disclosure policy or would like to be featured on Takin' Care of Twins Reviews, please contact me.

Some of the information used came from the Bad Genes' website and the copy write belongs to Bad Genes.

Bummas Wipes Review and Giveaway - CLOSED

2010-08-13T09:57:00.000-07:00

About the company: Bummas started when the founders had their first baby boy, and they were left with what to do during diaper changes to ensure that their little man was left dry and diaper rash free. Not finding a good alternative to keeping him dry and happy after diaper changes, Bummas wipes were born. AND, Bummas wipes are absorbent enough to handle all of those little "surprises" that can sometimes happen when you open up a baby's diaper!

About the product: Bummas are small, soft, luxurious baby-sized cloths made especially for drying baby bottoms, as well as blocking those surprise squirts. And, with a little douse of water, they can also replace wet wipes for clean up of sensitive bums. They are small enough to conveniently carry on the go and durable enough to wash over and over again. They also won’t pill, shrink, or fade.

Eliminates the use of talcum powder.
100% Cotton - Woven Velour Terry Cloth milled in the USA.
Variety of color combinations for nursery themes.
Handy 5” x 7” size. Won’t pill, shrink, or fade.
Durable. Just throw them in the wash and use again.
They will last until your little one is out of diapers and beyond!
Made in the USA

We were sent a set of "The Wild Ones" Bummas wipes, and they are absolutely wonderful and super colorful. We have always used cloth wipes because of the cost of throw away wipes and because of my families' sensitive skin. However, when we started, we just bought some baby wash clothes from the dollar store, and wow, I wish that I had known about these wipes a long time ago.

Pros: Bummas wipes are very soft and absorbent. They would work perfectly as baby wipes, nose wipes, family cloth, napkins to go in lunch boxes, or even as cleaning clothes. Super versatile with many uses beyond your child's babyhood! I also LOVE the colors that they offer.

Cons: It's a small con, but I wish that they came in packs of a dozen, instead of ten packs. Everything else in the diapering world seems to come in packs of a dozen! Haha. And, a couple of mine weren't completely uniform in size, but honestly, it's not really a "con" because who really needs their wipes to be identical? It's just more of an observation.

Buy it! Purchase Bummas wipes off of their website in five distinct colors for $16.99 per set!

Win it! Casey over at Bummas wipes has generously offered one Takin' Care of Twins reader their own set of Bummas wipes (winner picks the color)! (Open to US and Canada residents only.)

Mandatory entry!

Go to the Bummas site and figure out which color wipes you like best. (This is mandatory for any additional entries to count!) Leave a comment with the name and URL of your favorite product.

Additional entries!

Publicly follow Takin' Care of Twins (Google Friend Connect button on the side bar of the main blog). Leave TWO comments. (Worth TWO entries!)
Publicly follow Takin' Care of Twins Reviews and Giveaways (Google Friend Connect button on the side bar of both blogs). Leave a comment.
Subscribe to my feeds. Leave a comment.
Follow Takin' Care of Twins on Twitter. Leave a comment.
Follow Bummas on Twitter. Leave a comment.
"Like" Takin' Care of Twins on Facebook. Leave a comment.
"Like" Bummas on Facebook. Leave a comment.
Tweet about this giveaway from your PUBLICLY viewable twitter account (can be ONCE a day but make sure you comment on this post with a link to your tweet each time). If you are tweeting, use the following: @takingcotwins and @bummas are giving away a set of 10 cloth baby wipes! Enter to #win the #giveaway at www.takingcareoftwins.com!
Blog about this giveaway (and leave me the link to the specific post in a comment).
Vote for Takin' Care of Twins on Top Mommy Blogs (can be done ONCE per day per computer). Leave a comment each time you vote. (Voting can only count for ONE comment per day as well, regardless of how many giveaways I have going on, unless you vote separate times from separate computers, i.e. you can't vote once and comment on two giveaways that you voted.)

Be sure to come back and submit a comment for EACH entry you complete! (So, if you follow me on twitter, come back, leave your twitter username and blog name/email address in a comment, and let me know that you are following me on twitter! Or, if you make a posting on twitter, come back, leave me the exact link, and comment that you tweeted!) Giveaway will close on August 31st, 2010, at 11:59pm EST, and I will use random.org to select the winner. I will post/contact the winner within 24 hours, and they will have 24 hours to respond or I will move on to the next person.

Much love,
Carrie

Please note: I received a set of "The Wild Ones" Bummas wipes, and I received no compensation of any form for posting this review/giveaway. The opinions expressed about this product are mine and mine alone. If you would like my complete disclosure policy or would like to be featured on Takin' Care of Twins Reviews, please contact me.

Some of the information in the "about the company" and "about the product" sections were taken from the company website and the copy write belongs to Bummas.

Seventh Generation Giveaway Winner

2010-08-10T19:51:00.000-07:00

Congrats to Chantal! You are the winner of my ReUsies Giveaway! Please email me in the next 24 hours!

Much love,
Carrie

P.s. Be sure to enter the other current giveaway running right now!

ReUsies Giveaway Winner

2010-08-10T19:46:00.000-07:00

Congrats to Tania! You are the winner of my ReUsies Giveaway! Please email me in the next 24 hours!

Much love,
Carrie

P.s. Be sure to enter the other current giveaway running right now!

Bilibo Review

2010-08-04T20:32:00.000-07:00

Since I first heard about the Bilibo (when the babies were only a few months old), I knew that I wanted one, well two actually (or maybe even TEN!). I LOVED the idea of an imaginative, child-operated toy that could be used for years. And, apparently, I'm not the only one who thought that because it has won loads of awards from different organizations and websites. Here are some of the design awards that it received:

Developed by a Swiss designer, Alex Hochstrasser, in consultation with leading experts like Prof. Rem H. Largo from the University Children's Hospital Surich, the Bilibo was created with extensive research of preschoolers' play habits taken into consideration. The designers wanted the Bilibo to have no specific purpose but to fulfill the needs and assist in the creative potential of each individual child playing with it. It's meant to be anything and everything!

Kid-O, the sole Western Hemisphere distributor for the Bilibo, was kind enough to filfull all of my hopes and dreams by sending us a Bilibo to review. (Okay, perhaps, not all of my hopes and dreams, but you get the idea...)

Pros: The kidlets loved the Bilibo just as much as I thought they would. Within the first five minutes of playing with it, it was spun in, stood on, used as a basket, and worn as a turtle shell! Since that first time they played with it, they have done other random things with it, but those still seem to be their favorites four ways to play with it. I completely feel like this will be one of their favorite toys for the better part of the next ten years. The Bilibo is made to take a beating too; the website states that it's "virtually indestructable," but I can't imagine what it would take (short of being run over by a car) to damage this thing. A definite bonus in our house!

Cons: It's always hard to review one item when we have TWO babies wanting to play with it, but there was honestly nothing that was specifically a negative about this item (other than the fact that we only have one of them!). We do try to stay away from plastic toys, but this isn't a toy that could have been created in any other medium (and it's at least 100% recyclable plastic).

Overall, I think that this is a fabulous, must-have toy for every household. Seriously, you might get addicted though and end up buying one in every color! /grin/

Buy it! Amazon.com actually has the best prices ($25.20 with free super saver shipping!) on the Bilibos. (And, it's probably where I will go to buy my next one because we will have at least two of these babies!)

Much love,
Carrie

Please note: I received a Bilibo to review, and I received no compensation of any form for posting this review. The opinions expressed about this product are mine and mine alone. If you would like my complete disclosure policy or would like to be featured on Takin' Care of Twins Reviews, please contact me.

Some of the information and pictures used came from the Bilibo website and the copy write belongs to Kid-O.

GlammaToys/Kimochis Review and Giveaway - NOW CLOSED

2010-08-02T10:55:00.000-07:00

About the company: GlammaToys is a family-owned and family-focused business. They strive to offer the ultimate satisfaction in customer service, and my dealings with them have certainly confirmed this. GlammaToys offers a world of unique toys and games that create smiles, giggles and imaginative play for children of all ages. They sell high-quality, American-made specialty toys that you won’t find anywhere else – each one carefully selected by their discerning staff to enrich young lives and bring families close.

About the product: From their site: "Feelings can be messy...Kimochis can help! Using Kimochi characters, kids can get in touch with their own emotions in a fun and comfortable way. And when kids can communicate their feelings, they cultivate confidence and character. Kimochis have feelings just like kids! Kimochis are tactile and interactive toys. Each of these quirky and modern dolls has a mouth for storing its' 'emotions.' Each 'emotion' is a small fleece disk with the emotion written on one side and a facial expression of ithe emotion on the other. Each Kimochi has its own unique and charming personality and comes with its' own set of three emotions."

When GlammaToys said that they wanted to send us a Huggtopus Kimochis to review and giveaway, I was a bit concerned that it would fly way over the twins' heads. I mean... They aren't even two yet! But, I totally underestimated the twins' ability to understand their own emotions. /blush/ The doll came with something of an owner's manual/how-to guide. It gives tips and suggestions on how to use the dolls and how to help your children better communicate their own emotions.

Pros: The Huggtopus is super cute and cuddly. I'm not huge on stuffed toys, but this one is well-made and the babies really like it. I'm a huge proponent of talking to my children and helping them to communicate their wants/needs/dreams/emotions/whatever. I feel like keeping the communication open will be helpful in the long run, and I want them to feel like their emotions are important to me and that I "hear" what they are telling me. The Huggtopus helps to encourage all of these behaviors in a fun, cute way.

(Peanut about to kiss Pumpkin, which we always refer to as "being kind" in our house.)

(Peanut signing "sorry.")

(Peanut signing "hurt.")

Cons: It's always a problem for us having only ONE toy to review (most companies send two), but we used that opportunity to reinforce sharing and talk about "frustration" (one of the emotions that came in the emotion pack). Also, one of the emotions, "uncomfortable," was a bit beyond our ability to comprehend at this point, and I just think that that's a pretty difficult emotion to some up anyway.

Overall, I think that the Kimochis is a well-made, cute stuffed animal that can also serve an educational purpose.

Buy it! Buy any one of the Kimochis dolls and extra emotion packs from GlammaToys!

Win it! GlammaToys will be giving one lucky Takin' Care of Twins reader a Huggtopus doll and extra emotion pack!

In order to enter:

Go to the GlammaToys site and figure out which product that you like best. (This is mandatory for any additional entries to count!) Leave a comment with the name and URL of your favorite product.
Publicly follow Takin' Care of Twins and Takin' Care of Twins Reviews (Google Friend Connect button on the side bar). Leave a comment.
Follow Takin' Care of Twins on Twitter. Leave a comment.
Follow GlammaToys on Twitter. Leave a comment.
Become a fan of Takin' Care of Twins on Facebook. Leave a comment.
Tweet about this giveaway from your PUBLICLY viewable twitter account (can be ONCE a day but make sure you comment on this post with a link to your tweet each time). If you are tweeting, use the following: @takingcotwins and @glammaTOYS are giving away a Huggtopus doll! Enter to #win the #giveaway at www.takingcareoftwins.com!
Blog about this giveaway (and leave me the link to the specific post in a comment).
Vote for Takin' Care of Twins on Top Mommy Blogs (can be done ONCE per day per computer). Leave a comment each time you vote. (Voting can only count for ONE comment per day as well, regardless of how many giveaways I have going on, unless you vote separate times from separate computers, i.e. you can't vote once and comment on two giveaways that you voted.)

Be sure to come back and submit a comment for EACH entry you complete! (So, if you follow me on twitter, come back, leave your twitter username and blog name/email address in a comment, and let me know that you are following me on twitter! Or, if you make a posting on twitter, come back, leave me the exact link, and comment that you tweeted!) Giveaway will close on August 16th, 2010, at 11:59pm EST, and I will use random.org to select the winner. I will post/contact the winner within 24 hours, and they will have 24 hours to respond or I will move on to the next person.

Much love,
Carrie

Please note: I received a Huggtopus doll and emotion pack to review, and I received no compensation of any form for posting this review/giveaway. The opinions expressed about this product are mine and mine alone. If you would like my complete disclosure policy or would like to be featured on Takin' Care of Twins Reviews, please contact me.

Some of the information in the "about the company" and "about the product" sections were taken from the company website and the copy write belongs to GlammaToys.

EcoMom Review and Giveaway - Winner

2010-08-01T22:09:00.000-07:00

Congrats to Ashley! You're the winner of the $15 EcoMom.com gift card! Please email me in the next 24 hours!

Thanks,
Carrie

P.s. Be sure to enter the other current giveaways running right now!

Overstock.com Review

2010-07-27T23:06:00.000-07:00

So, I'll be honest, I've never been a huge online shopper. I love to go to stores and sit down on the furniture or try on the clothes, but recently, with two crazy toddlers to juggle and the even more impending craziness that is going to be our fall and winter, the idea of online shopping has become such an appealing idea. And, Overstock.com has an incredible reputation as far as online retailers go.

Like I have mentioned on my daily blog, Takin' Care of Twins, we are in the middle of a home renovation project. We are moving around our bedroom and creating a huge playroom (and possible bedroom) for the twins. Because of this, I have been on the look out for new furniture for both our bedroom (I'd LOVE a nice low platform bed) and the playroom. I LOVE this bed! It's low to the ground but has storage space too.

While searching through their selection of Kids Furniture, I found these awesome pieces:

This would be an awesome addition to our playroom. And, the idea of it being made out of memory foam... ohhhh. Bliss. I'll take two!

I have always loved captain's beds because of the space saving aspect. That's even more important for us now. The only other type of bed that I would be really interested in is a twin trundle bed set.

And, for purely indulgent reasons, I also looked through their selections of Home Lighting. I'd love new lights for our bedroom and the playroom. Maybe something fun and colorful for the playroom, but something very simple for our bedroom.

If we don't use part of playroom as the twins' bedroom, I would like to make it into a small sitting area (mostly for playdates). So, a nice, comfy couch would be a wonderful addition to the room. Their selection of Sofas and Loveseats had many different options that would fit the bill! I like this one a lot! Again, it's multifunctional AND has storage!

And, Dave is always hounding me for a new television to go out in the garage for his P90X workouts. There is one out there now, but it's one of those old, huge monster TVs. So, he'd really like something sleek and thin to hang on the wall and take up almost no room.

So, I could probably sit around all day and night checking out the different options available from Overstock.com, and you can't really beat $2.95 shipping on every order (even those beds and couches that I was looking at!).

Much love,
Carrie

Please note: I received compensation for this review post. The opinions expressed about this website and its products are mine and mine alone. If you would like my complete disclosure policy or if you are interested in your brand being featured in a similar post, please contact me.

ReUsies Review and Giveaway - NOW CLOSED

2010-07-26T21:01:00.000-07:00

About the company: At the start of the new school year the founders of ReUsies realized that their families were going through an average of 10 plastic bags per day between school and work lunches. They were doing their best to reuse and recycle in other areas of their lives, but there didn’t seem to be a solution to the plastic sandwich bags they were using. ReUsies were designed for their waste-free quality but also to eliminate plastic from being in direct contact with food. ReUsies are owned by Seattle moms with a passion to do right by their children, and they hope that the footprint they leave behind for future generations will be much smaller.

About the products: I was sent one snack size and one sandwich size bags. They are 100% cotton, lined with water-resistant 100% nylon (BPA, Lead and Phthalate free). They come with velcro closures that are kid-friendly and ensure that the food won't fall out. They come in two sizes, snack (approx. 6” w / 5” h) and sandwich (approx. 7.5” w/ 6”h). The snack size holds a half sandwich or whole sandwich with the crust cut off! It is good for smaller quantities of crackers, pretzels, apple slices, etc. The sandwich size holds a typical "grown up"- sized sandwich, full bagel, or larger quantity of snacks.

Pros: I seriously LOVE these bags! I hate using plastic around my family's food, and I hate needlessly throwing things away. They can even go in the washing machine OR the dish washer (though, we've just been rinsing ours and hanging them to dry). They have lots of cute prints and a bunch of colors.

Cons: That I don't have more of these! Haha. Seriously though, I love these. I think that some with zippers might be nice too. The velcro works great and I didn't have anything fall out of mine the whole time that I was using them (including smaller things like goldfish), but I really like the idea of them having zippers.

Buy it! From the ReUsies online store for $6.95 to $8.95 each.

Win it! ReUsies will be giving one lucky Takin' Care of Twins reader one snack bag and one sandwich sized bag! (Open to US and Canada only.)

In order to enter:

Go to the ReUsies site and figure out which size bag and which fabric (color or print) you like best. (This is mandatory for any additional entries to count!) Leave a comment with the name and URL of the bag that you like best.
Publicly follow Takin' Care of Twins and Takin' Care of Twins Reviews (Google Friend Connect button on the side bar). Leave a comment.
Follow Takin' Care of Twins on Twitter. Leave a comment.
Follow ReUsies on Twitter. Leave a comment.
Become a fan of Takin' Care of Twins on Facebook. Leave a comment.
Become a fan of ReUsies on Facebook and leave a comment on their wall telling them that Takin' Care of Twins sent you. Make sure to come back and leave a comment here as well!
Tweet about this giveaway from your PUBLICLY viewable twitter account (can be ONCE a day but make sure you comment on this post with a link to your tweet each time). If you are tweeting, use the following: @takingcotwins and @reusies are giving away a reusable snack bag and sandwich bag! Enter to #win the #giveaway at www.takingcareoftwins.com!
Blog about this giveaway (and leave me the link to the specific post in a comment).
Vote for Takin' Care of Twins on Top Mommy Blogs (can be done ONCE per day per computer). Leave a comment each time you vote.

Be sure to come back and submit a comment for EACH entry you complete! (So, if you follow me on twitter, come back, leave your twitter username and blog name/email address in a comment, and let me know that you are following me on twitter! Or, if you make a posting on twitter, come back, leave me the exact link, and comment that you tweeted!) Giveaway will close on August 9th, 2010, at 11:59pm EST, and I will use random.org to select the winner. I will post/contact the winner within 24 hours, and they will have 24 hours to respond or I will move on to the next person.

Much love,
Carrie

Please note: I received a snack bag and a sandwich bag to review, and I received no compensation of any form for posting this review/giveaway. The opinions expressed about this product are mine and mine alone. If you would like my complete disclosure policy or would like to be featured on Takin' Care of Twins Reviews, please contact me.

Some of the information in the "About the company" and the "About the product" sections were taken directly from the companies' website, and they are copy write ReUsies.com 2010.

Seventh Generation Review and Giveaway - NOW CLOSED

2010-07-22T20:42:00.000-07:00

About the company: The name "Seventh Generation" was inspired by the Great Law of the Iroquois Confederacy that states: "In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations." Wow. What an awesome concept for naming an eco-friendly company. Seventh Generation also focuses on and is dedicated to honesty and disclosure. On their site, they explain, "We believe that the best way to ensure that we live up to our aspirations is to be completely transparent about our business and product practices. You should expect to see all of our values and principles in everything we make, say, and do. It’s really that simple." Because of these two things, I feel comfortable using Seventh Generation products. I feel that they are working towards creating a better, safer, more chemically-free world for both their children and mine.

About the products: I received the "Free and Clear Starter Kit" which included the following items:

Disinfecting multi-surface cleaner*
Disinfecting bathroom*
Disinfecting wipes*
Laundry detergent
Liquid fabric softener
Dish liquid
All-purpose cleaner
Auto-dish pacs
Glass cleaner
Natural paper towels
Seventh Generation recycled bag (reusable shopping bag)

*Note that the disinfecting products have thysol scent in it (from Thyme oil), so they are not actually considered "free and clear." But, it's an essential oil and dissipates quickly.

Pros: My favorite products were the Free and Clear laundry detergent (though I love their scented detergents too!), the Free and Clear dish liquid, the disinfecting wipes, the disinfecting multi-surface cleaner, and of course I LOVED the reusable shopping bag. I felt that these were the most "essential" items for my household, and with the exception of the multi-surface cleaner, I couldn't make the other items very easily with things that I always have at home. I usually make my own cleaner with water/vinegar and a few drops of tea tree oil, and it works well for almost everything. Though, some days I'm just NOT interested in using it because of the smell. So, having these products gives me a good alternative. I also just love the fact that Seventh Generation is dedicated to making safe products!

Cons: I felt like there were just so many different products. I'm a simple kind of girl. Haha. Give me ONE thing that does it all, and I'm happy. (Which is why I loved the multi-surface cleaner!) Even though the paper towels are recycled, it's SO rare that we use paper towels because we have our unpaper (cloth) towels. (However, they work well for things that have oil, like for putting bacon on while the fat drains off a little bit.) I preferred my vinegar/water combo for cleaning windows (over their glass cleaner).

Overall, I love the Seventh Generation products, but I think that I could get by with just one or two of the cleaners instead of having the all-purpose cleaner, the glass cleaner, the disinfecting cleaner, the bathroom cleaner, etc. Also, I'm not sure that I have mentioned it recently, but I am a bit of a germophobe! (If my babies are sick and don't sleep well, I don't sleep well!) So, Seventh Generation let's me scratch my cleaning itch without all of the harmful chemicals in other cleaners! Though, I do love my natural, homemade cleaners too, and since cost is an issue for us, I'll probably try to keep one of the Seventh Generation cleaners around all the time but mostly use my homemade cleaners.

Buy it! You can buy Seventh Generation products at so many different places (anywhere that you can buy other household cleaners). AND, there are coupons on the Seventh Generation website!

Win it! Seventh Generation will be giving one lucky Takin' Care of Twins reader a "Free and Clear Starter Kit" (including 11 FULL SIZE products!)!

In order to enter:

Go to the Seventh Generation's website and figure out which product you would most like to try or that you like best. (This is mandatory for any additional entries to count!) Leave a comment with the name and URL of the product that you like best.
Publicly follow Takin' Care of Twins and Takin' Care of Twins Reviews (Google Friend Connect button on the side bar). Leave a comment.
Follow Takin' Care of Twins on Twitter. Leave a comment.
Follow Seventh Generation on Twitter. Leave a comment.
"Like" Takin' Care of Twins on Facebook. Leave a comment.
"Like" Seventh Generation on Facebook and leave a comment on their wall telling them that Takin' Care of Twins sent you. Make sure to come back and leave a comment here as well!
Tweet about this giveaway from your PUBLICLY viewable twitter account (can be ONCE a day but make sure you comment on this post with a link to your tweet each time). If you are tweeting, use the following: @takingcotwins is giving away a Free and Clear Seventh Generation @SeventhGen kit! Enter to #win the #giveaway at www.takingcareoftwins.com
Blog about this giveaway (and leave me the link to the specific post in a comment).
Vote for me on Top Mommy Blogs (can be done once per day per computer)! Leave a comment.

Be sure to come back and submit a comment for EACH entry you complete! (So, if you follow me on twitter, come back, leave your twitter username and blog name/email address in a comment, and let me know that you are following me on twitter! Or, if you make a posting on twitter, come back, leave me the exact link, and comment that you tweeted!) Giveaway will close on August 9th, 2010, at 11:59pm EST, and I will use random.org to select the winner. I will post/contact the winner within 24 hours, and they will have 24 hours to respond or I will move on to the next person.

Much love,
Carrie

Please note: I received a Seventh Generation Free and Clear Starter Kit to review upon my request, and I received no compensation of any form for posting this review/giveaway. The opinions expressed about this product are mine and mine alone. If you would like my complete disclosure policy, please contact me.

EcoMom Review and Giveaway - NOW CLOSED

2010-07-17T20:27:00.000-07:00

About the company: EcoMom believes that, "Healthy living doesn't have to be overwhelming. Small steps matter and make a big difference." Founded to address the connection between the health of our environment and the health of our children, EcoMom is committed to making eco-conscious living easy, affordable, and rewarding with education, support, tools, and products. EcoMom has loads of different options for the eco-minded parent, from organic foods to natural toys. They also have a program called "EcoPass," which is a $99 annual membership that provides a 15% discount and free shipping on every order!

About the products: I was sent a Revolution Foods Sampler, but we weren't really able to put it to really good use because it's so rare that our children eat pureed food (usually only when we go out to dinner and know that there will be little to no organic food options for the babies, then we'll bring some pureed fruit as a "smoothie" that the babies drink out of a straw). So, we were also sent some glutten-free Eco-Kids Eco-Dough. Eco-Dough is a molding dough homemade with natural ingredients including fruit, plant, and vegetable extracts from beets, spinach, paprika, carrots, purple sweet potato, red cabbage, blueberries, and tomatoes.

Revolution Foods Sampler (more items included than are pictured here):

Pros: They did get a kick out of sucking the 100% organic, no sugar added fruit out of the little CapriSun-esque packaging! And, Pumpkin ate all of this package, asked for more, and ended up finishing Peanut's! So, I suppose that it was a hit! :-D These would also work pretty well mixed into an older baby/toddler/child's plain yogurt to give it a bit of flavor.
Cons: The only thing that I wasn't a fan of was the fact that the first ingredient in the "Jammy Sammy" mini-sandwiches was evaporated cane juice. /sigh/ I would have preferred if they were no sugar added, but that is so hard to find these days with any cereal/granola type to-go bar.

Gluten-Free Eco-Dough by EcoKids:

Pros: I am familiar with the ingredients in this dough, and I was thrilled about that. Also, the packaging is made of 100% post consumer waste and 100% post consumer recycled plastic. The babies really seemed to enjoy playing with it (and so did Daddy!). The texture and molding ability were perfect, and overall, we just loved this product!
Cons: It is slightly harder to get up off of hard surfaces than the big name brands of molding dough. (You know how you can usually get it to really stick to itself and pop right up?) It did come up pretty easily, just not as easily as I have had with the big name brand. Also, I was disappointed with the size of the box that both products were shipped in (very large boxes for relatively small products). However, that has nothing to do with the Eco-Dough specifically, just the transaction. Edited to add (July 18th, 3:05pm): I just found out that the boxes were bigger because EcoMom always recycles their boxes, so that's more of a "pro" than a "con" on their end really.

Check out the cute pictures that I took of the kidlets playing with the Eco-Dough though! :-D

Buy it! Revolution organic foods ($3 and up) or Eco-Dough ($20-33).

Win it! EcoMom will be giving one lucky Takin' Care of Twins reader $15 EcoMom Gift Card!

In order to enter:

Go to the EcoMom site and figure out which product you like best. (This is mandatory for any additional entries to count!) Leave a comment with the name/URL of the product that you like best.
Publicly follow Takin' Care of Twins and Takin' Care of Twins Reviews (Google Friend Connect button on the side bar). Leave a comment.
Follow Takin' Care of Twins on Twitter. Leave a comment.
Follow EcoMom on Twitter. Leave a comment.
Become a fan of Takin' Care of Twins on Facebook. Leave a comment.
Become a fan of EcoMom on Facebook and leave a comment on their wall telling them that Takin' Care of Twins sent you. Make sure to come back and leave a comment here as well!
Tweet about this giveaway from your PUBLIC twitter account (can be once a day but make sure you comment on this post with a link to your tweet each time). If you are tweeting, use the following: @takingcotwins is giving away a $15 EcoMom (@EcoMomCEO) gift card! Enter the giveaway at www.takingcareoftwins.com!
Blog about this giveaway (and leave me the link to the specific post in a comment).
Vote for me on Top Mommy Blogs (can be done once per day per computer)! Leave a comment.

Be sure to come back and submit a comment for EACH entry you complete! (So, if you follow me on twitter, come back, leave your twitter username and blog name/email address in a comment, and let me know that you are following me on twitter! Or, if you make a posting on twitter, come back, leave me the exact link, and comment that you tweeted!) Giveaway will close on July 31th, at 11:59pm EST, and is open to US and Canada residents only. I will use random.org to select the winner. I will post/contact the winner within 24 hours, and they will have 24 hours to respond or I will move on to the next person.

Much love,
Carrie

Please note: I received a Revolution Foods Sampler and Eco-Dough to review, and I received no compensation of any form for posting this review/giveaway. The opinions expressed about this product are mine and mine alone. If you would like my complete disclosure policy, please contact me.

Another branch of the blog...

2010-07-17T18:17:00.000-07:00

Recently, I have been given the opportunity to review several items and host a few giveaways, and I just have to say that it's very addicting. I LOVE getting new products to try and to give away to my bloggin' friends!

Because I originally created my blog to chronicle the babies' lives, I have added a new section of the blog titled, "Takin' Care of Twins Reviews." This branch of my blog is connected to the original section and is just an offshoot of that blog. I would love to be able to offer a few giveaways a month, and I think that having a section of my blog dedicated to just that will be a nice way to keep everything neat and organized.

If you are interested any blog PR being posted on my site (reviews, giveaways, sponsorships, ads), please contact me. I can give you more specifics of the process. Blog PR is an easy way to get more exposure for your brand and increase traffic to your site, and mama bloggers are one of the newest ways to advertise your products!

Stay tuned because tomorrow I will be hosting a new giveaway on my site!

Much love,
Carrie