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Exederm ultra sensitive skin care (review/giveaway)

Posted on January 31, 2010 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

In our house, we have always been very careful about the products that we use on our skin. Since I have extremely sensitive skin, we are constantly on the lookout for products that contain no fragrance. The truth is, these types of products are quite hard to locate most of the time. Even if something says fragrance free, I have often found fragrance listed as one of the ingredients on the back of the bottle.

When the boys were born, we knew it was possible that they would have sensitive skin like me. NHL was diagnosed with eczema when he was about four. My little guy had patches on his body early on. Then just a few months back, I went to the dermatologist and found out that a funny looking spot on my leg was severe eczema (looks a little different on adults). I was told to ditch my Dial soap and use items that were more moisturizing when bathing and to follow up with a moisturizer after.

At about the same time, I was asked by Family Review Network to review some baby skin products by Exederm. This seemed like a great opportunity to try something that could help my family and our eczema.

Exederm Products

Information about Exederm:

Exederm has a simple philisophy which is to use the mildest ingredients in their products. By doing this, they proudly state the following about their products:

No Fragrance

No Color or Dyes

No Parabens

No Lanolin

No Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLS)

No Propylene Glycol

No Formaldehyde

No Phthalates

No Cocamidopropyl Betaine (CAPB)

About Exederm from their company:

We’ve worked with a team of experts to create a range specifically designed for eczema and dermatitis sufferers.

Too many personal care products contain ingredients that may irritate sensitive skin, especially for those with eczema or dermatitis – allergic reactions and rash are common.

Most everyday skincare products are actually designed for the average person – even some of those products laveled as ‘Sensitive’ or ‘Mild” or ‘Hypoallergenic’.

Many ‘natural’ or herbal products can be just as bad too!

ECZEMA & DERMATITIS SUFFERERS ARE NOT AVERAGE – and average skincare is just NOT good enough.

Exerderm offers an intelligent and common sense approach. We believe people with sensistive skin need to avoid irritants – why take risks?

The National Eczema Association honored exederm with 12 ‘Seal of Acceptance’ awards in acknowledgement of our products’ ultra sensitive formulations.

Exederm offers a variety of products for people with sensitive skin that may include eczema and dermatitis.

To help heal flare ups, there is Exederm Flare Control:

Helps heal eczema flare-ups

Fast soothing relief of itchy, red skin

Maximum strength without a prescription

America’s only paraben-free hydrocortisone cream

For hydration of sensitive skin, there is Exederm Intensive Moisture cream, body lotion and body oil:

Deeply moisturize dry or flaking skin

Soothes red, cracked or itchy skin

Ultra sensitive and non-irritating

Award winning formulations

To help avoid irritating triggers, Exederm Body Wash shampoo and conditioner

Ultra sensitive, non-irritating formulations

Rich, soap-free and non-drying wash

Low foam shampoo or healthy hair & scalp

SLS (Sodium Laureth Sulfate) free

Our thoughts:

We received a complimentary package of Exederm baby care line products to do this review. Here are a few photos of the items and them in use:

By the time the products arrived, my eczema flare up was under control, but keeping it that way is critical. My 2 year old son has a few patches on his body right now thanks to the dry winter. We decided to test the products on him one night in the bath tub. First, we used the body wash. We noticed that it did not have any smell. Wahoo – truly fragrance free like it promised! Hubby was able to lather it up a little on my homemade knit cotton washcloths. Unlike some of the body washes/soaps that we have used in the past, this one did not bother JSL. He kept playing with his toys and splashing like nothing was going on.

Then it was time to test out the shampoo. JSL still has cradle cap, so we need to really scrub his scalp to work at the scales. We were pleasantly surprised with the results. Hubby was quickly able to use a very small amount in his thick hair and work it around nicely. Check out how you can see it in his hair and not wonder if you have any in (photo above).

The little guy is not a fan of moisturizing, so I tried those on my skin after a shower. I really liked the Intensive moisturizer. It was really thick and worked nicely on my overly dry hands. Although it was thick, it still soaked into my hands quickly and did not leave me feeling slippery. My goal is to try to use the baby lotion on JSL. He really is dry in the winter and recently I have seen some small patches of eczema cropping up on him. I also tried the hydrocortizone cream on an itchy spot and unlike others it did not burn. It quickly soothed the area and was not bothering me anymore.

We will definitely be purchasing more of Exederm for our family since it works well and most importantly helps to protect our very sensitive skin.

Giveaway:

Thanks to Exederm, one lucky reader will be able select one item of their choice from the Baby Care Line. .

Rules for Giveaway:

MAIN RULE – Head over to the Exoderm website and answer the following question: What item would you select to try if you win the giveaway?
1 Bonus Entry – Who would this product be for? Does this person has sensitive skin, eczema or dermatitis?
1 Bonus Entry – Tweet about the giveaway on Twitter. Be sure to include @TheAngelForever and Exederm Giveaway in the Tweet. Please leave a direct link to your Tweet in a separate comment for each daily entry. Example Tweet (feel free to use): Do you or your children have sensitive skin? Review/Giveaway of Exederm from @TheAngelForever http://bit.ly/aBJynX
1 Bonus Entry – Subscribe to my RSS feed (or let me know if you already are) in a separate comment.
1 Bonus Entry – Leave a comment on any of my non-giveaway posts from the month of January/February. Be sure to leave a comment here to let me know which one. This Bonus entry may be done only twice per person.
3 Bonus Entries – Add my blog button to your website and leave a link with the location. Be sure to give yourself 3 comments for credit.
5 Bonus Entries – Write a post on your blog linking to my blog about the Exederm giveaway. Be sure to leave 5 comments about this to get credit for all of your extra entries

To enter, please follow the rules above within the comment section. Contest starts today, January 31st, and ends at 10:59 EST on February 14, 2010. You do not have to be a blogger to enter, but must leave a valid e-mail address for me to contact you for mailing address once the giveaway is over. I will select the winner using random.org and contact you via e-mail. You will have 48 hours to claim the prize. If there is no response, another winner will be selected. Open to U.S. and Canadian residents only.

Disclosure: I received the package baby care skin/body products complimentary of Exederm to facilitate this review as part of The Family Review Network. No other compensations was given. The opinions expressed in the review are my own feelings about the product that our family tried.

Categories:
allergies health awareness jsl me moments photos Product review

New OxiClean Products

Posted on January 28, 2010 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

As the mother of two little boys, I have seen my fair share of dirt, grime, food and other stains on clothing. There have been times that I have actually "retired" some clothing because things do not come out after using our normal strain removing tactics.

Last Friday, when NHL got home from school and took his coat off, I noticed something on his back. Check that, it was all over his back, and something else was on the sleeves. I asked him what had happened. He told me that they had Art class that day and had been painting. Ugh! Typically, I remember Art day and would not send him to school in a lighter colored outfit. I am the mother that sent her child to daycare years ago in menu coordinating outfits to try to hide stains the best. I asked how the paint got there, but only received shrugs. No doubt in my mind that NHL’s shirt was the project of another child in the class. *sigh*

Friday night, when NHL took off the shirt I sprayed it with our usual stain spray. This is one that can be left on for a while before washing. Sunday, I did the laundry. When I pulled it out of the wash, some of the paint was still there. Can you see fumes coming from my ears? Well, that is when I kicked myself. I had just received some new samples of OxiClean Max Force Pre-Treater Gel Stick and Oxi Clean Max Force Laundry Strain Fighter & Booster Power Paks. Ooops!

So, yesterday morning, I decided to try an experiment. Would the soon to be released (mid-February) products by OxiClean get rid of the paint that did not come out previously? Here are the before photos:

I opened up my pre-treater, read the directions and set to fight that stubborn stain. I really liked that when you pushed down, just the right amount of gel came out. The nubs on top were great for helping to rub the gel into the stain. Then I went to the basement to change from cold water to warm (instructions said that works best) and waited to see what happened. BTW – Another brain issue. I goofed and turned on the machine and forgot the Power Paks upstairs. Oy!

More about the new OxiClean Products:

This winter, OxiClean announced two new products to add to your stain-fighting arsenal: OxiClean Max Force Power Paks and the Max Force Gel Stick Pre-Treater. You can use the Power Paks to give any load of laundry – whites and colors both – a boost, without dealing with messy liquids or powders. The Gel Stick Pre-Treater works best on tough stains – even ones that set-in on clothes for a week! Just rub the gel into the fabric and let it sit for a few minutes before throwing it into a normal load of laundry.

Each of these new products contains OxiClean’s "4-in-1 stain fighting power" so whether grease, oil, blood, or dirt, appears on clothing, you know that dabbing with OxiClean will leave the garment looking new again after just one wash.

When I took NHL’s paint stained sweatshirt out of the wash, the stain had faded more. Much less noticeable, but still there. I can not fault OxiClean at all since the item had previously been washed and dried. Next time, we have another stain pop up I will be sure to use the Max Force Pre-Treater directly on the item and toss the Power Paks (now downstairs so I will not forget). I will update how that goes in my comments here.

I know one thing, we will be buying more OxiClean because I liked that there was not a harsh scent, it worked to reduce already set in stain and has worked well on carpet stains over the years. Oh, I will also be tossing the OxiClean Pre-Treater in a bag to go to Disney World with us. Quick and easy vacation stain fighting is what I am all about!

Disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central on behalf of OxiClean and received a sample to facilitate my candid review. Mom Central sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.

Categories:
messy photos Product review

Money Savvy Pig

Posted on January 25, 2010 1:27 pm by TheAngelForever

When we were getting ready to head to Disney World last spring, we allowed NHL to earn money doing certain things. The purpose of this was for NHL (5 at the time) to have the ability to make some of his own purchases. Not only would he be able to keep track of his earnings, but he would also see the value of his money as he spent it on items he liked at stores on vacation. This experiment went pretty well. NHL actually bought one item and came home with a lot of leftover money.

NHL has learned over the years that we put away money that he gets from his birthday into his savings account. We have explained to him the importance of having this money or when he goes to college in the future. Other money has also been invested on his behalf for college. Without realizing it, we had talked with him in elementary terminology about saving, spending, and investing money.

When Hebrew School started in the fall, they began to talk a lot about Tzedakah. The kids would bring money for the Tzedakah box that would be sent to Israel and other charities. Over the last week, we have slowly started to talk to NHL about Haiti. We have mentioned to him that it is important for all people to help others and usually this means donating money to help them. TechyDad and I explained that in Haiti they will need to rebuild everything, get medical care to the people and send the survivors food and water. In his own way, NHL understood. We talked about going to the local grocery store and donating money to the charity for Haiti.

To assist us even more in making NHL a money savvy individual, we were lucky enough to be sent a Money Savvy Pig to review and use with him.

More about The Money Savvy Pig:

One slot piggy banks have been around for….centuries. But the world has changed. Now we have a highly sophisticated financial system, a system whose complexity has outstripped the ability of most adults, many of whom grapple with credit card debt, even bankruptcy.

Personal finance education needs to start young. How? With the same universally loved childhood toy, the piggy bank….but with a 21st century twist! The Money Savvy Pig piggy bank has four chambers, one for each of the four money management choices a child should be taught from the time they are small. They are SAVE, SPEND, DONATE, and INVEST.

The Money Savvy Pig works by giving gives children a sense of control over their money through choices
By being interavtive, the Money Savvy Pig involves children on their terms to begin money management skills
Parents participate by helping to set goals and discuss choices, consequences of those choices and developmentally appropriate values
Made out of a translucent durable polystyrene plastic that comes in blue, pink, green, purple, red and platinum editions
Holds up to $300 in coins
Price $16.99/$19.99 and comes with a sheet of goal setting stickers to help kids track the goal of each of their money choices, as well as instructions/tips for each of the four money choices
If you are not a Piggy fan, they also make a Money Savvy Cow and Football
The Money Savvy Pig (or cow or football bank) is also part of the Money Savvy Kids @ Home program available from Money Savvy Generations that comes with a parent handbook, student workbook, CD with images to guide you through lessons, a coloring/activity book and glossy money poem poster

Our Thoughts:

When NHL was asked to pick out a pig color for our review, he immediately selected green. When I asked him why he quickly replied "Money is green!" Good reply from a six year old child. So far we have really worked on talking with him about the save, spend and most recently the donate areas of his pig. The invest portion is still a little too abstract for a first grader. We are working on ways for NHL to earn money to put into his Money Savvy Pig and where to place the coins when he receives them.

As a parent, I really appreciate the attention to detail that Susan Beacham (founder of Money Savvy Generation) has put into this product. I had seen it on several television shows and mentioned in magazine articles after it won awards and was curious about trying it with NHL. I can see how the Money Savvy Pig will continue to grow with him as he becomes a more mature consumer. As an educator, I love how this could also be used in a classroom. With older children, it could be a fabulous lesson and classroom party goal project.

I know that we will continue to use the Money Savvy Pig with NHL and eventually with JSL to help them to become money savvy adults. In this day and age, it is even more important as our society digs the way out of the economic struggles.

Disclosure: I received the Money Savvy Pig complimentary of Money Savvy Generation in order to facilitate this review. No other compensations was given. The opinions expressed in the review are my own feelings about the product that my family tried.

Categories:
Educational Product review

Renting a stroller at Disney World

Posted on January 12, 2010 2:55 pm by TheAngelForever

Last year, at about this time, I was working on plans for our first family Disney World vacation in May. Having been to Disney World countless times in my life, I knew there was a LOT of walking involved each day. My youngest was going to turn two during our stay, so he would need a stroller to rest/nap in during the long days. What I wondered about was my oldest son. NHL was 5 during our trip. Walking at the mall for long periods of time often makes NHL tired thanks to low muscle tone. Even without the low muscle tone, Disney walking is like nothing else you will ever experience. I knew we had to figure something out.

At first, we were going to rent a double stroller for a week at Disney. If you paid out the week, it was slightly discounted. Thank goodness I turned to the DISBoards and stumbled onto an amazing post about stroller rentals. Everyone on the post said the same thing – go to Orlando Stroller Rentals. So I went to their website and looked at the city mini double stroller. It seemed perfect since it could hold up to 100 pounds of children within it. Several of the Moms on the DISBoards mentioned that they had 5-7 years old that fit into it without a problem. I made a phone call to Orlando Stroller Rentals and spoke with Shannon, the owner. She was fabulous and answered all of my questions.

Why did we go with Orlando Stroller Rentals? Here are a few of the reasons:

Strollers are delivered to your resort/location of choice. It was waiting for us at luggage at Pop Century when we checked in.
The cost is significantly lower than Disney rentals. Was happy to give support to a small local business.
Everyone talked about how uncomfortable and small the Disney double strollers were. I did not think my youngest would be able to rest – no less have room for my 5 year old son.
Picture after picture showed children asleep in these city mini double strollers at Disney World
We would be able to take the strollers from the resort to the park and back. Disney strollers must stay in the parks only – so we would not have them to travel around property or shop at Downtown Disney.
When we were finished with the stroller, we simply returned it where we had picked it up and Shannon would retrieve it.

Our Thoughts:

We loved the double stroller from Orlando Stroller Rentals. It made our trip even more magical. We had a place for both of the boys to rest comfortably. Much to our surprise, our 5 year old seemed to use it more than our 2 year old who wanted to walk with Daddy. The stroller was easy to push around the parks. We had plenty of room, even at Pop Century to fit it in our room at night. With a few tries, opening and closing to take on and off the Disney buses was simple. Both of the boys would sit under the shades to keep cool and relax as we walked from area to area. In addition to this, at night when the kids were exhausted from a day in the heat they could sleep as we wandered back to our resort. Another plus is the stroller was easy to pick out in the mass of strollers parked outside of attractions. They were not only bright orange, but Shannon also has a laminated name badge attached to the stroller.

Our experience was so wonderful that when we were planning this quick trip to Disney for the Social Media Moms Celebration, I immediately called Shannon to see availability of strollers. Lucky for us, we were able to get one for the time we will be there. This will be fabulous not only for our time together as a family, but also when TechyDad is flying solo with the boys.

Now I just need to walk up a storm and get my arms ready to push the boys in the stroller that we will be renting from Orlando Stroller Rentals.

Disclosure: This review of Orlando Stroller Rentals that was done on my own, I received no compensation. We paid in full for our trip in May and are doing so again in February. This post was written to let others know about this wonderful business and service they provide to families visiting Walt Disney World.

Categories:
customer service Disney jsl looking back nhl photos Product review travel vacation

Focus on Family Fiber (Review/Giveaway)

Posted on January 10, 2010 8:52 pm by TheAngelForever

Raise your hand if you have enough fiber in your diet. . . . do you?

I think TechyDad and I can safely say that we do really well with this. Thanks to previous weight loss regimens, we know how important fiber rich foods are daily. Not only are they good for your digestive system, but they also keep you feeling full long. Sadly, there are days that I know the boys do not get enough fiber. Sure we buy whole wheat/grain breads that have a lot of fiber in them, but that is just not enough for the kids.

My six year old will eat veggies that get him a little bit closer to the correct amount of fiber on some days. JSL is a very stubborn two year old. If it is green, or looks like a vegetable, chances are he will not touch it or let it pass his lips. It is a constant battle that has caused us to get creative with meals. TechyDad has done a series on his blog about some of the items we have tried (Cooking with TechyDad Sneaky Weeky).

The little guy definitely suffers at times from the lack of fiber in his diet. Let’s just say he can get plugged up and he is not a happy camper when this happens. About a year ago, my mother saw a product in a magazine and asked me if I should look for it to help JSL. It was Pedia-Lax Fiber Gummies. I searched and finally found them at our local Target. We bought them and when I knew JSL needed them he would get a penguin and they would work their magic on what ailed him.

We also packed them with us when we went to Disney World in May. We have noticed that JSL does not like to do his "business" of sorts when we travel. Going away for a week, we knew he would be a miserable mess after a few days. We packed our Pedia-Lax Fiber Gummies and they kept JSL regular and smiling the entire trip.

Recently, I was contacted by one of my PR contacts and asked if I would have my boys try the Fiber Gummies. I told her that we already used them and had been meaning to blog about how they helped our family. I was sent a complimentary bottle of them and told I could also run a giveaway for my readers.

Pedia-Lax Fiber Gummies facts:

Introduced in 2009, Pedia-Lax® Fiber Gummies, are a daily fiber supplement made for kids by Fleet. These days, many kids lack the proper amount of fiber in their diets. Today’s guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends 25 grams of fiber per day for four year old children. Pedia-Lax Fiber Gummies are a daily supplement to help kids ages 2-11 maintain better digestive health and stay regular. The penguin-shaped Pedia-Lax Fiber Gummies are sugar-free, calorie free, gluten-free and made with natural fruit flavors. A recommended serving is three gummies every day. The following chart shows what this supplement would be equivalent to:

Suggested retail price is $7.99 for a bottle of 60 gummies; available at Target and Walgreens, also online and other supermarkets and retailers nationwide.

Our thoughts:

Both of the boys love the Fiber Gummies. My 6 year old is actually jealous that his little brother gets them more often. JSL has learned to ask for them if he has a difficult time doing his business. As stated above, we have been using them for almost a year already and have had great success using them to help little digestive system.

As a parent, I love that the Fiber Gummies are sugar free and approved by dentists. I know that while broccoli and other fiber rich foods are best, that I have a safe alternative to help my boys get the needed fiber in their diets.

Giveaway:

Thanks to Fleet, one lucky reader will be able to win a bottle of their own Pedia-Lax Fiber Gummies. This is perfect time for this giveaway since January is National Fiber Focus Month.

Rules for Giveaway:

MAIN RULE – Answer the following questions: What fiber rich food does your child like? What fiber rich food is a no-go with your child?
1 Bonus Entry – Head over to the Pedia-Lax website and tell me something that you learned/liked while visiting.
1 Bonus Entry – Tweet about the giveaway on Twitter. Be sure to include @TheAngelForever and Pedia-Lax Fiber Gummies Giveaway in the Tweet. Please leave a direct link to your Tweet in a separate comment for each daily entry. Example Tweet (feel free to use): Focus on Family Fiber in January and get a chance to win a bottle of Pedia-Lax Fiber Gummies from @TheAngelForever http://bit.ly/6dP35b
1 Bonus Entry – Subscribe to my RSS feed (or let me know if you already are) in a separate comment.
1 Bonus Entry – Leave a comment on any of my non-giveaway posts from the month of December/January. Be sure to leave a comment here to let me know which one. This Bonus entry may be done only twice per person.
3 Bonus Entries – Write a post on your blog linking to my blog about the Pedia-Lax Fiber Gummies giveaway. Be sure to leave 3 comments about this to get credit for all of your extra entries

To enter, please follow the rules above within the comment section. Contest starts today, January 10th, and ends at 10:59 EST on January 18, 2010. You do not have to be a blogger to enter, but must leave a valid e-mail address for me to contact you for mailing address once the giveaway is over. I will select the winner using random.org and contact you via e-mail. You will have 48 hours to claim the prize. If there is no response, another winner will be selected. Open to U.S. residents only.

Disclosure: I received a package of Pedia-Lax Fiber Gummies complimentary of Fleet to facilitate this review. As previously mentioned, we had already purchased many on our own prior to this review. No other compensations was given. The opinions expressed in the review are my own feelings about the product that our family tried/uses.