Honest Company products and our family Organic rule - great for WORKING MOMS!

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. I thought I do this review from the point of view of a busy working mom.
There is a LOT of information out there about The Honest Company's products (www.honest.com) out there. Here is the bottom line to save you some time on reading about all the stuff on the internet: their products are life savers for busy moms.

I've been carefully researching this whole organic products thing for my family. I've been trying to find a happy and easy definition of how far we go into this whole green thing. As everyone already knows, green = money. Yes, I said it, it's expensive and doesn't always work as efficient. This is not the case with most of Honest's products ( I haven't tried everything and I will explain why later). At the same time, I want my daughter to be well rounded and well adjusted. I don't want to protect her from every bad thing and keep her in the bubble that really doesn't exist if she walks out the front door. However, I do care about her health and well being so here are my rules for determining when our family uses organic, biodegradable, and green products:

1. anything that touches her skin on a daily basis
2. anything that she touches that can be ingested
3. fumes that could be emitted and breathed in
4. available organic food (will go into detail about this)

About #1 - Clothes that she wears everyday and towels are washed with Honest Laundry Detergent. Honest pods are wonderful as well. And yes, it works very well. We use these products and love:
Body wash + Shampoo
Conditioner
Leave in conditioner
Lip Balm
Bubble Bath (LOVE LOVE LOVE this, lots and lots of bubbles)
Foaming Hand Soap

About #2 - Wanted to clarify. I used to love 409 but realized that my kid will pick up food from any counter/table and eat it. I don't want her eating 409 or Windex residue. So, we use this from Honest now instead:
Multi-Surface Cleaner (I use this on everything. And surprisingly works really well on stainless steel appliances. Better than my stainless steel cleaner)
Floor Cleaner
Window/Mirror Cleaner (smells like vinegar but vinegar is an edible food)
Bathroom Cleaner

About #3 - This is similar to #2. Specifically, I only use non-toxic cleaning products in her room and playroom

About #4 - I buy organic when available and foods with what I describe as absorbable surfaces. I mix because my daughter needs to have tolerance when there is not organic food available like at restaurants, travelling, and life. But I would like her to have minimal exposure to waxes and all the other nasty stuff that they put in the soil and animals to make them grow fast and big. So, here is what are must organic products for us:
Honest Toddler powder vitamins
Apples
Eggs (egg shells are extremely permeable and absorb all the stuff they ingest into the chickens)
Milk
Zucchini
Carrots
Raspberries
Strawberries
Banana
Chicken
Beef
and we're limiting fish with all the toxins and radiation

What I don't use organic - stuff like toilet bowl cleaner. My kid stays out of the toilet whether there are toxins in there or not. Toilets need to be cleaned in my house hold with the strongest stuff. I vent out the bathroom and close the door to keep everyone out when using it. So, I've never used Honest's toilet bowl cleaner, sponge, and candle (I don't burn candles with a toddler around).

So, back to Honest Company. Through my year of using Honest stuff, not one product has failed me. The general company policy pretty much does all the research for you. So, you can safely use their products knowing its as natural and non toxic as it can be and for it to work well at the same time. I've converted all my co-workers with and without kids to use their products at home because really, toxins shouldn't be allowed in anyone's body.
And here is why I highly recommend this brand over others - they delivery for FREE right to you. I have not gone to the store in 1.5 years to buy diapers, wipes, cleaning products, body wash, etc. My time with my family is limited as it is and as much as I love Target, I don't need to be going there as much as other parents do. They send it to you on your schedule and completely controllable by you. Their customer service line is a short wait and they are extremely friendly. Join their bundle program, shipping is free. Control when you need you items, no cancellation, no hassle, time saving, good for my family.  And yes, their diapers works (it holds stuff in well).

So, there you have it. Honest Company products are reliable and safe for your family. You can't put a price on time! (Price is reasonable for me too, but that is for you to judge what you would like to spend)

When I have time, I would like to read Jessica Alba's book. I'll get there one day.

Lollacup Review

I've searched high and low for the perfect straw cup. Although I haven't found the exact perfect one, I found one pretty close. I've bought every brand possible of straw cups and Lollacup is my favorite. Here are my initial expectations:
1. Must be able to drink at all angles
2. Does not leak due to pressure (you know when milk start coming out of the straw like a fountain?)
3. BPA free
4. Non toxic and free of coloring (the main cup that is actually holding the liquid)
5. Soft straw (the prevent from accident)
6. Can fit in the cup holder in the car
7. Easy to clean
8. Does not leak when tipped over

Lollacup does all but the last one. Now that my daughter is almost 2, she's pretty good about not throwing her cup everywhere so that is why #8 has been placed at the bottom of the list. Many of you probably love the Zoli but the Zoli did not satisfy #6 and #7. It did however satisfy #8.

The Lollacup and the Zoli are my favorite hands down but Lollacup is at the top of my list for these reasons of comparison:

1. Lollacup has a removable handle so it can fit in cup holders.
2. Zoli has a split tip on the top of the straw. I think this is how it prevents leaks when tipped over. However, it makes it very difficult to clean.
3. The straw is a lot narrower in the Zoli than the Lollacup. My daughter can use less effort to get more milk out. I didn't think too much into this at first but as we used the 2 cups, the issues came up. I mix in Honest Toddler Multi Vitamins and the split top at the top of the straw prevents her from getting the powdered vitamins (it doesn't all completely dissolve). When I use the vitamins, I really have to be able to get in the straw to clean it out well. The Zoli's straw is so thin, the it gets hard to clean out completely.

And that is why I have every color of the Lollacup. You can check out all the colors at their website www.lollaland.com

I got mine at Amazon as there isn't any local retailers that carry it.

Car Seats

Like most families, we have 2 cars in the family. My daughter is 23 lbs and 23 months. She's still rear-facing which is a whole other topic on its own. But in short, my view is safety first and so far my daughter hasn't protested to face nothing. Before she was born, I researched ALL the available strollers our there and the one that worked best for us is the ORBIT baby!!! WE LOVE IT! Not only are they local for us, they have great customer service. I have a terrible back so the whole orbiting base is a life saver, I mean back saver. She's been in Orbit products since day one, but as she's getting older, I'm re-researching this whole car seat thing. The reason is, my husband and I are TIRED of switching out the toddler car seat between our cars. I mean, the Orbit car seat is the easiest to remove but it is a drag with daycare pickups. And the worse is when your significant other forgets to take out the carseat from his car until he gets to work, and you've got to get him to drive all the way back home to bring the carseat back. So, those days has happened 1 too many and we are going to splurge because we are lazy and forgetful (maybe that came with age??).
That leads to a new discovery, Clek Foonf!! It wasn't available till after my daughter was born so I never looked into this Canadian brand. www.clekinc.com That cute little girl just gets me imagining my own daughter sitting there making faces at me, so CUTE! But back to what I said at the beginning of this post, my daughter's safety is #1! Not only can I get her to stay rear facing longer, it reclines! No more bopping head while sleeping through car rides. The cute colors are a plus but the safety that this car seat provides is amazing. I'm going to order it soon for my daughter so I'll do a review after. I can't wait! We're going to get the Blue Moon one for her.

Hello Mommies !!!

I've decided to start blogging to help other moms and share with other moms with parenting. I'm not a trained anything or certified anything except from what I've learned from raising my almost 23 month old daughter. Yes, I'm learning from her. I've read books, articles, other blogs, etc and have come to the conclusion, NOT one method worked for my daughter. She paves her own path and she makes her own decisions. I actually believe that is how it is for every child. Its that old saying, we are ALL different. So, I guess this blog is more for entertainment purposes. Enjoy!