Monthly Archives: April 2012
Kolcraft Announces the First Summer Fitness Challenge
Looking to get fit this summer? Kolcraft is teaming up with Chicago’s Active Moms’ Club for their very first summer Fitness Challenge.
The Active Moms’ Club offers exercise classes for both pre-natal and post-natal moms in the Chicago area. The classes are a great chance to work out and mingle with other moms, plus, you can bring your baby to all classes!
As part of our Fitness Challenge, moms will be rewarded each time they attend an Active Moms’ Club class with an entry into a raffle to win great Kolcraft prizes including:
- Sealy Crib Mattresses
- Sesame Street Elmo Adventure Potty Chairs
- Jeep Sport 2-in-1 Baby Carriers
Moms who attend a total of at least 12 classes during the summer will automatically be entered to win our Grand Prize of a brand new 2012 Jeep Jogging Stroller! Join on us on Thursday, May 3rd in Lincoln Park’s Oz Park as we kick off the Fitness Challenge with a Biceps, Babies & Buggies stroller fitness class followed by a fun get-together in the park! A special snack will be provided! To learn more about the Active Moms’ Club and to register for class, visit www.activemomsclub.com. Moms who attend the classes will also have a sneak-peek at the jogger before it’s in stores, and the opportunity to try it out themselves!
Planning to come to class? Be sure to watch the video and mention it to a Kolcraft representative for an extra entry into our raffle. Looking for even more ways to win? Answer the following question at Thursday’s picnic for another entry into our monthly raffle:
What are your fitness goals for the summer?
Even if you aren’t in the Chicago area, you can still get fit with us! Check out the video below for more information on our Fitness Challenge, as well as some helpful tips you can use when walking with your stroller.
We look forward to joining you on your summer fitness journey!
Bellying Up To A Mud Bar
We love how Spring brings new life and new opportunities to get outside and have fun. Equipped with an imagination, a child can see a backyard or a park as the door to hours of fun. We love the b Organic site for all sorts of wonderful tips on organic living. We especially love their mud bar. A mud bar is a fun place for kids to explore, learn and use imagination. It doesn’t have to be fancy by any means. A watering can full of water or a hose, a few pans and spatulas & TAH-DAH the mud kitchen is open!
Have you made mud pies with your kids?
National Infertility Awareness Week
This week we celebrate National Infertility Awareness Week. This year’s theme is “Don’t Ignore Infertility.” There is so much pain around infertility beyond the physical because there are also emotional and social implications. Unfortunately there is a lot of ignorance around infertility and awareness is key to breaking down barriers and building healing bridges.
What you can do if you have struggled with infertility:
- Speak up – Share your story about infertility. Whether you blog, tweet, belong to a special interest group or teach a class you can help people open their eyes to this issue and step out of their ignorance.
- Find support – Don’t be afraid to seek support. Infertility can be a lonely journey. Find a support group you can share your journey with in a welcoming environment.
- Get involved – There are many road blocks from healthcare and the government to helping infertile couples to become pregnant. Write to your local representative to have policies changed.
What you can do even if you don’t struggle with infertility:
- Educate yourself – Just because you don’t struggle with infertility, doesn’t mean you should be ignorant of it. Educate yourself to all that is involved in infertility so your knowledge can prevent you from making insensitive comments like; “Yeah we got pregnant at first shot.” “We just think about it & we are pregnant.” Or probably the worst – “Don’t stress, I’m sure one day you will be able to experience the joy of motherhood. It’s the best feeling ever.”
- Make a donation – Funding is needed for infertility research. Because many infertility treatments are not covered by insurance, couples spend a lot of money on fulfilling their dreams to become parents. Consider making a donation to help bring needed programs and services to couples dealing with infertility.
- Be sensitive – If you know someone is struggling with infertility be sensitive to that, but don’t leave them out of your own parenting experiences. That will only make them feel more alienated.
For more information on Infertility Awareness Week, please visit the NIAW website.
Enjoy the Moment of Now
We have all said it whether our children are 3 months or 13 years old – they grow up soooo fast! Today, we think it’s just important to sit back, let the laundry pile grow, let the dust accumulate and just take time to snuggle. It’s the most important thing on your “to-do” list. And if you aren’t convinced that your kids grow up too fast, check out this amazing video of a a little girl who went from 0-12 in 2 minutes. What a great idea. Makes us wish we had video from every week with our kids.
A Mom Always Carries Her Child With Her
No matter if a mom is physically with her child or not, that love & connection is always there because a child is always within a mom’s heart. We saw this quote from Margaret Culkin Banning and couldn’t agree more!
A mother never quite leaves her children at home, even when she doesn’t take them along.
What is your favorite mom quote?
Give Your Baby the Best Green Crib Mattress for Peaceful Sleep
Your baby deserves a crib mattress that is comfortable and promotes a healthy sleep environment. The Sealy Nature Couture collection of crib mattresses features Oeko-Tex certified organic cotton covers with Crypton clean sleep – an eco-friendly, liquid, stain and allergen barrier. All these mattresses are GREENGUARD Indoor Air Quality Certified® and GREENGUARD Children & Schools Certified, helping consumers minimize their chemical exposure and create healthier indoor environments for their children.
What does that mean for your sleeping baby and your peace of mind? It means that these crib mattresses have demonstrated compliance with the GREENGUARD Environmental Institute’s stringent chemical emissions standards following rigorous scientific testing. The GREENGUARD Environmental Institute, part of the UL Global Network, is a not-for-profit, third-party organization dedicated to protecting human health and improving indoor air quality by certifying products for low chemical emissions.
Right now you can buy a Sealy Nature Couture crib mattress at Walmart with the Sealy Sweet Pea 2-in-1 maternity and nursing pillow at low rollback prices! It’s the perfect time to give your baby a natural crib mattress with eco-friendly features for the best sleep surface and a good night’s rest!
Have Your Child’s Photograph Taken And Help Operation Smile
During the month of April, participating photographers are joining the celebration of smiles by offering individual portrait sessions and a desk size portrait in exchange for a $24.00 donation to Operation Smile. This national fundraising effort will benefit Operation Smile which is an international children’s medical charity with a presence in more than 60 countries that provides free life-changing surgery for children and young adults who are suffering from facial deformities such as cleft lip and cleft palate.
Our friends at Wehmeier Portraits told us about the event and are participating in this amazing event. We love the Wehmeier family and how much they always think of making children’s lives better. We think it is a wonderful way to capture your child’s smile while giving a less fortunate child something to smile about. Check out the Operation Smile site to find a participating photographer. Be sure to tell your child how her smile is helping others. It truly takes a village to raise a child and your child can help make the village a little better for another child.
5 Tips on Being A Green Eco – Friendly Family
Being an eco-friendly family may seem like a daunting task, but with these 5 simple tips your family can help take care of our earth and make it a better place!
- Grow your own garden – Growing your own vegetables is a healthy way to care for your family, the earth & your bank account! Tomatoes, summer squash and herbs are some of the easiest vegetables to grow. Your kids will love being able to watch their garden grow and eat their hard work! If you live in the city with no room for a garden, support your local community garden or community market!
- Clean up – Pick up litter. Get your kids in the habit of picking up cans, plastic bags, etc. that people throw on the ground. Put on disposable gloves & go on a garbage hunt in your neighborhood to pick up litter others have left behind.
- Say goodbye to chemicals – Cleaners are packed with chemicals that are harmful to your family and the environment. Trade in your chemical cleaners for eco-friendly versions (we love the products at Eco Store USA & found they clean better than chemical cleaners!) or use homemade cleaners like our grandparents did years ago – vinegar, oils, lemons, baking soda, etc.
- Go paperless – Pay bills online to cut back paper waste and ask companies not to send you catalogs via mail. You can keep up with savings from companies by signing up for emails, liking their Facebook page or following them on Twitter.
- Recycle, reduce and reuse – Take a look around your house & cut back on unnecessary things, see what you can recycle and start to reuse things. Start with one seemingly small thing & keep adding one more thing every week. You will be amazed how quickly your house and your family become green! We love the Freecycle site to help recycle, reduce and reuse.
Each of us can do something to make our lives and the world a better place. Anne Frank, a girl wise beyond her years said it well, “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” We don’t have to wait. Let’s start today to make our world a better place!
What tips do you have for becoming a more green family?
Being A Good Mom
Do you consider yourself a good mom or do you find yourself nit picking at your faults – what you should have done, and would do if you could have a “do over”. Maybe for today, we can stop even for 5 minutes and remember all you do and are that makes you a good mom. Don’t think of all that you “don’t do” or wish you did or what you think you should be doing – just soak up all that you do that tells your children, “I love you. You are special to me.”
That 5 minute affirmation can make all the difference of how you think about yourself and your children.
Go ahead – we dare you – leave a comment & tell us why you are a good mom!
Fun Fingerprint Flower Craft for Kids
This fun, easy Spring craft for kids gives you a keepsake of your child’s little fingerprints that you will cherish for years!
What you need:
- Craft foam or construction paper
- Non-toxic finger paints
- Pipe cleaner
- Non-toxic glue
- Scissors for adult use only
- Googly eyes (optional)
What to do:
- Cut foam or construction paper into simple flowers.
- Have your child dip their thumb or other finger in fingerprint.
- Put thumbprint in the petals of the flower and in the middle of the flower.
- Let dry.
- Glue pipe cleaner on back of flower to make a flower stem.
- Add googly eyes if you want.
Enjoy!
