SwaddleDesigns Swaddle Duo Review

I am pretty in love with all my SwaddleDesigns products. And when I am in the mother's lounge at church full of mommy's and their nursing babies, everybody else seems to love SwaddleDesigns swaddle blankets, too. They are becoming quite the hit and more and more people are discovering their goodness and for good reason. They are awesome.I love hooded towels for my kids and since the one I got for my baby girl at Target got 2 holes in it after one wash, I was really looking for a hooded towel that would last, make my baby feel comfy and warm, and was as soft as she was. I received the SwaddleDesigns Organic Hooded Towel with Pastel Pink Mod Circles on Ivory. It was everything I was looking for and more. I have had the towel for nearly 4 months now and my 10 month old baby is still loving getting swaddled up in this goodness after every bath.

I also received a couple of SwaddleDesigns fabulous blankets. One of my favorite things about their swaddle blankets is that they include instructions on how to swaddle sewn right onto the blanket. So perfect for new mommies or for people like me who need to be reminded of the same instructions over and over again.
SwaddleDesigns recently introduced the Swaddle Duo which includes their Ultimate Receiving Blanket for moderate to cooler temperatures and the Marquisette Swaddling Blanket for warmer temperatures.
I learned some seriously great information about appropriate temperatures for our babies and how to prevent SIDS. I always knew overheating was a bad idea, but I hadn't heard about being too cold being just as dangerous. Please read:

“The SwaddleDesigns Goldilocks Guide™ ~ baby should not be too hot, or too cold, but just right ~ comfortably warm.”

The Goldilock’s Guide helps new parents remember the importance of keeping baby comfortably warm.

SwaddleDesigns strives to help new parents care for their baby by providing accurate and up-to-date information, so parents can may make informed choices. SwaddleDesigns Safe Sleep Program includes recommendations from the AAP and the NIH as the company strives to increase awareness of Safe Sleep practices and help parents reduce risk of SIDS.

According to leading SIDS researchers, both overheating AND overchilling are risk factors for SIDS. In addition, it’s important for parents to understand that when baby is too cool during sleep, baby will use valuable energy to stay warm instead of growing and thriving. Over the past few years some juvenile product companies have over focused on overheating as a SIDS risk factor, and there has been a lack of balanced conversation regarding insufficient thermal insulation – the danger of baby being too cool - as a risk factor for SIDS. It is time for a balanced information where parents are educated and reminded of their important responsibility to make sure baby is not too hot or too cold, but comfortably warm.

Visit http://www.swaddledesigns.com/safe-sleep for more information.

BUY IT!

SwaddleDuo available in 17 styles with MSRP of $38

We are not compensated for our reviews. We receive product(s) for free so we can provide our experience. These are our honest opinions. Your experience may vary.

Telephone Chair

My mother-in-law hooked me up with this awesome telephone chair. I love it. Like really, really love it. The lines and design are so chic. The fabric was in great condition, but I wasn't totally loving the wood stain. It was beautiful, just not my style. So, one day I just decided to spray paint it.I covered the upholstery with plastic bags and painters tape and then dragged it outside. My initial plan was to sand the shiny finish off, but after sanding the same spot for about 10 minutes and not making a bit of difference, I decided to test just spraying the drawer without sanding. To my surprise, it looked and stuck great so I continued spraying the rest of the chair.
At first, I thought just the silver looked kind of cool, but after a couple days it started reminding me of tin foil. I found exactly what I wanted to do here and decided to add an antiquing glaze.
The antiquing glaze really gave it a finished look and now I don't think I would ever guess it was spray painted. I plan on adding a little more glaze and adding some big flowers to that "vase", but was too excited about how it has turned out so far so I had to share! I'll post more pictures once it is all totally completed.

Be Food Safe.

Do You Practice Food Safety?

Do you think about food safety; if so, when? Do you only think about it when you go out to eat? Have you considered your own food practices and ways to prevent food borne illnesses in your home? I have food safety permanently drilled into my brain due to my education and training as a dietitian. My family and friends witness me practicing food safety during our gatherings that involve food; don’t most all gatherings involve food?! They may think “she’s so helpful to quickly help clean up and put the leftover foods away.” But in reality my mind is calculating the time it’s been out at room temperature. If it’s to be eaten again, I want it back in the fridge well before the time limit of 2 hours. Two hours at room temperature gives bacteria a chance at growth and making us sick.

Recently, the US Department of Health and Human Services has launched a “Be Food Safe” campaign to educate the public on 4 food safety areas: Clean, Separate, Cook, Chill. The Ad Campaign created funny and memorable TV commercials for each category. You can check them out at http://www.foodsafety.gov/keep/basics/ads/index.html For more food safety information that you can apply in your home, the American Dietetic Association has teamed up with ConAgra Foods to create the “Home Food Safety” website: http://www.homefoodsafety.org I’ve included some of my personal kitchen food safety tips for you:
Clean:

• Start with clean hands and clean surfaces (counter tops, cutting boards, cooking dishes, etc.)
• Always have dish soap and hand soap next to the kitchen sink. Try to keep the kitchen sink for cooking tasks (I direct my husband to the bathroom sink when he comes up from the garage with dirty hands).
• I keep a stash of disinfecting wipes and sanitizing spray next to the kitchen sink. I wipe the counter down with the wipes when I have chicken, meat, or egg juices on the counter. I mostly use the sanitizing spray to spray down the sink (after defrosting chicken in a bowl with running water, throwing the egg shells in the sink to go into the garbage disposal, etc.).
• Wash ALL fruits and vegetables even if you are going to peel or cut them up; you can drag bacteria that is on the surface inside while the knife slices through.
• I love using my salad spinner for washing small fruits like strawberries or blueberries. I fill the container with the basket still inside with water to soak the fruit (for about 2-5 minutes). Pull the basket out to drain the water off, return to the spinner and spin off more water, and then put on a clean dish towel to finish off the drying process.
• I keep a vegetable scrub brush near the sink and have it clearly marked with “Veggies,” so it doesn’t get used for regular household cleaning tasks.
• Regularly wash your reusable grocery bags and wash the one that meat is transported in more frequently.

Separate:

• It’s best to have two separate cutting boards: one for your meats/poultry and one for your fruits/vegetables. However, I know two cutting boards may not practical for all kitchens. My grandmother’s smart solution was to use a permanant marker to write “meats” on one side and “fruits/ vegetables” on the other side of her cutting board. Cut the fruits/ vegetables first and save the meats until last to prevent their juices from contaminating your fruits and vegetables.
• Keep your “drippy” things, like meat and chicken, on the bottom shelf with a bowl or plate under them to catch the juice; you don’t want it to drip on your other foods.
• Make sure your “drippy” things get bagged separately at the grocery store too.

Cook:

• Buy a meat thermometer. They are not very expensive and you don’t have to memorize what type of meat has to be cooked to what temperature because it will have it on the thermometer dial. Don’t forget to use it!

Chill

• Living in hot Georgia, I worry about the transportation of my perishable foods. I keep a neoprene market tote in my car so I always have an insulated bag for my cold items. I have a cheap Styrofoam cooler and ice packs (in the freezer) at work so I can pick up some grocery items during my lunch break and know they can survive the drive home with the stop by daycare to pick up my daughter.
• Remember my above 2 hour time limit? Get perishables in the fridge in less than 2 hours. If it’s a large batch of food, you will want to put it in several small dishes or in a shallow dish to allow it to cool quickly. The 2 hour rule also applies to outings like picnics or tailgating. You may want to limit your perishables (and eat them first) or make sure you have a way to keep them out of “the danger zone” (40-140 degrees F).
• Now once that food is safely in the refrigerator, how long should it stay there? That’s where this handy-dandy “Refrigerator Calculator” is a great thing to have. You can download yours here: http://www.homefoodsafety.org/pages/utilities/docs/calculator.pdf I wish it was available as a magnet (hint, hint Home Food Safety).
• Home Food Safety also has a refrigerator/freezer storage guide for fresh food here: http://www.homefoodsafety.org/pages/utilities/docs/rf_storage_chart.pdf

I hope you have learned something new or remembered something forgotten. For more food safety tips, go to http://www. homesafety.org

“For helping spread the word about the importance of home food safety, I was entered into a drawing for a $15 Starbucks gift card and an iPad through Summertime Food Smarts, a contest run by the American Dietetic Association and ConAgra Foods' Home Food Safety program. Home Food Safety is dedicated to raising consumer awareness about the seriousness of foodborne illness and providing solutions for easily and safely handling foods. Learn more at www.homefoodsafety.org"

-Dinisha

Affresh Stainless Steel Cleaner Review-Part 2

In my last review of the Affresh Stainless Steel Cleaner, I shared that while I was impressed with its cleaning ability of food and previous cleaner residue, I was slightly disappointed with the amount of smudging left behind, particularly on my refrigerator.

The Affresh team stood behind their product and immediately wanted to help me remedy my problem. They sent me a fresh bottle of cleaner in case my original bottle had been defected in some way.

To my pleasant surprise, a new bottle made a huge difference. My guess is that my original bottle might have been out in the hot Georgia sun for too long the day it arrived.

While my refrigerator is still not perfectly smudge-free, I actually really love the Affresh Stainless Steel Cleaner and have converted to this brand over my previous cleaner that left greasy residue.

Some tips I found to be particulary useful while cleaning my stainless steel appliances with the Affresh Stainless Steel Cleaner are as follows:

Use a towel, not a paper towel or sponge.

Spray sections and wipe instead of spraying all over.

Even though the bottle says to leave spray on for a couple minutes on particularly dirty areas, i found spraying and wiping and repeat to be more effective.

It dries pretty quickly so to avoid smudging, work quickly.

Buff with a dry towel.

From the Whirlpool Corporation:

Affresh® Stainless Steel Cleaner gently cleans the fingerprints, smudges, and residue left behind from daily use. The cleanercombines commonly used cleaning agents with special ingredients that, when used as part of a normal maintenance program, can help prevent the formation of residue that can build-up on stainless steel surfaces.

You can purchase your own Affresh Stainless Steel Cleaner for $6.99 a bottle.

I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of affresh and received product samples and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.