Waverly is a cute, eco-friendly, plush water droplet on a mission to help his friends with The Nature Conservancy’s Rescue The Reef program. 

Waverly, one of several IdBids you can choose from, comes with special instructions on how to donate a portion of the purchase price to support your pal’s habitat in The Nature Conservancy’s Rescue The Reef program.

I followed the directions, entered my code, and was able to choose the habitat of the clown fish, the Hawksbill turtle or the Dugong (sea cow).  I chose the clown fish and was able to name him (Nemo, of course!), add my child’s name, and print out a certificate.

You can get your own Waverly or other IdBid from NMCToys (Not Made in China!).  Lil Roo has several toys from NMCToys – the toys are always a high quality, a lot of fun, and I do love knowing they are NOT made in China.  Waverly was provided to us by NMCToys.

From the site:

Wander off with Waverly the Water Drop and he’ll show you how to make the world more wonderful - one “iddy biddy” step at a time! Made of 100% organic cotton and dyed with environmentally friendly natural, metal free vegetable colors. With the purchase of each individual Idbids, your child can go online with you to learn how they can protect the habitats of animal friends.

Ages: 3+
Made In: Egypt
Manufacturer: Idbids
Dimensions: 9″ high

Seventh Generation sent over a variety of their cleaning products for me to test out as part of an “under the kitchen sink makeover” promotion and after using their products I have to say I am pleased with the quality and eco-friendliness of their products. I especially love the reusable bag that was sent with the products, because I am now trying to use these as much as possible instead of plastic shopping bags.  I sometimes forget, but I’m getting better. 

 Seventh Generation has a broad selection of green cleaning products… Carpet Spot & Stain Remover¸ Kitchen Cleaner, Natural All Purpose Cleaner, Natural Glass & Surface Cleaner, Shower Cleaner, Toilet Bowl Cleaner, Tub & Tile Cleaner as well as laundry and dishwashing products. 

 Some further information for you…

More than 50% of human poison exposure victims are children younger than six years (American Association of Poison Control Centers) and with 63 hazardous chemical products in the average American household (Consumer Product Safety Commission), it’s no wonder that kids are coming into contact with harmful chemicals on a daily basis at home. 

 

According to a recent survey conducted by Harris Interactive and commissioned by Seventh Generation, 70% of parents with kids under six years old store their household cleaning products/solutions under the sink, but 47% cannot name one ingredient in the cleaners that they are using and storing within reach of their children! 

 

Seventh Generation created Health eHome in collaboration with WebMD and Healthy Child Healthy World to provide a personalized educational platform that helps uncover potential dangers and hazards identified as “hot spots in a virtual home. The tool also has an expert blog that provides trusted information on creating a cleaner, greener lifestyle and parents can test the safety of their home by doing a “Health eHome Check,” where they can get personalized results and an action plan for their home.

 Plus some Seventh Generation Survey Findings…

Cleaning Your Home or Harboring Hidden Dangers?

 

More than half of U.S. adults (58%) don’t always check the labels of cleaning products to determine if they contain ingredients that are harmful to their health.

 

Nearly three in five adults (58%) clean their home by wiping the surfaces with a cleaning solution/product at least once per week, nearly half (47%) can’t name at least one ingredient in those cleaning products.

 

The majority of people (75%) store their household cleaning products/solutions under the sink, followed by 37% that store their products in the bathroom and 33% in the laundry room.

 

Sixty-seven percent (67%) of adults believe that companies are required to disclose all of the chemical ingredients contained in their products, which isn’t true.

 

While more than half of adults believe that household cleaning products (e.g., window cleaner, toilet bowl cleaner, kitchen cleaner) cause substantial damage to the environment (53%) and think that if used daily products that contain dyes or fragrances can be harmful to their health (59%), only 21 percent of parents opt for cleaning products with natural ingredients.

 

 

Keeping the family safe from harm?

 

Parents with children under the age of six years clean their home by wiping the surfaces with a cleaning solution/product several times per week (33%) and 27% clean once per day or more, yet 67% inaccurately believe that companies are required to disclose all of the chemical ingredients contained in their products.

 

One third (33%) of parents believe the kitchen is potentially the most harmful area to their children, while some did not believe any room in their home is harmful to children (16%).

 

Surprisingly, 70 percent of adults with kids under the age of six years that live in their household store their household cleaning products/solutions under the sink.

 

Eighteen percent (18%) of parents have not taken steps to safeguard their family from toxic ingredients in some household cleaners.

 

For those parents who choose to safeguard, opening windows to release toxic fumes is the most popular, with 50% deferring to that method.

 

While 78% of parents admit that their children know where the cleaning products are stored in the house, only 32% acknowledge they always check the labels to determine if they contain ingredients that are harmful to their families’ health.

  Seventh Generation Coupons

 Seventh Generation is offering one lucky Shake The Salt reader their own goodie bag of Seventh Generation Cleaning products!  Interested? Read on for ways to enter!

U.S. only

Deadline to enter: Monday, June 22, 2009 @ 11:59 PM EST

WAYS TO ENTER:

Visit the Seventh Generation online store then leave a comment here stating which of their products you would most like to try. (3 entries)

Join the Seventh Generation Nation (you’ll get monthly coupons & a great newsletter) then come back here and let us know.  (3 entries)

Visit the Seventh Generation blog & subscribe to the RSS feed. (3 entries)

Join the Seventh Generation forum then come back here and leave a comment with your forum username. (3 entries)

Tell us about your experience with any Seventh Generation product.  (5 entries per product)

Take the Shake The Salt button (left sidebar) & place it on your sidebar (3 entries)

Twitter this giveaway (ex: Win a 7^th Generation Goodie Bag via @shakethesalt http://bit.ly/Win7thGen) & include the link to your tweet in your comment (1 entry per tweet per day)

Stumble, Buzz Up, Share on Facebook, etc – Comment which site you shared this post with. (1 entry for each)

Write a blog post about this giveaway (5 entries)

Follow Shake The Salt on Twitter (1 entry)

Subscribe to Shake The Salt’s RSS feed using the Feedburner button or this link (you can get the feed through a reader or by email) (2 entries)

Follow Shake The Salt (“join this site”) using Google Friend Connect (see footer of blog) (2 entries)

Comment on any other non-giveaway posts on Shake The Salt, then comment here with the link or name of the post you left a comment on. (2 entries per other post commented on)

Your entries will ONLY be counted if left individually in comments. One comment = one entry.  If you are getting 2 entries for one thing, leave 2 comments about it (ex: Placed button on sidebar #1, place button on sidebar #2, etc). 

I was excited to get the package of birthday supplies courtesy of WordWorld.  Lil Roo loves the WordWorld: Flying Ant DVD (review) they also sent us and with his birthday coming up at the end of the month, I have a pretty good idea what the birthday party theme is going to be!

WordWorld teamed up with Celebrate Express to offer their new birthday party supplies – sold individually and in pre-packaged kits (the kits offer a savings over buying the items individually).  Their selection covers everything from invites, plates and napkins to favor boxes, activity placemats (which Lil Roo calls his “WordWorld Map”), and matching thank you cards.  There are also lots of extras, like a piñata, t-shirt, and wall-decorations; all featuring Word Friends.  There’s even a WordWorld Birthday DVD! 

The products are all bright and colorful, with the Word Friends in full party mode! I am very happy with the quality and detail.  I’m pretty excited to see Lil Roo’s reaction when he sees his birthday party décor (so far he’s only seen the placemat!). 

As I write this, Lil Roo is watching the WordWorld: Flying Ant DVD.  He has an assortment of letters (foam, magnetic, etc) in front of him so he can “build a word” and has his WordWorld map (part of the new birthday supplies line from WordWorld) at his side.  He won’t be three for another month and a half, so he isn’t technically putting words together with the letters, but he is getting the concept, in a very fun way, just by watching WordWorld. 

The WordWorld: Flying Ant DVD contains four episodes plus bonus features (running time approximately 60 minutes). 

Flying Ant: Ant wants to be part of the flying insect show, so he and his friends have word building fun getting him in the air.

Catch That C: Pig & Ant’s bag of C’s get away while they are making cookies & they are off chasing it down all over WordWorld!

Shuffleword: Ant & Pig get into an argument & both storm off… Pig with the consonants & Ant with the vowels.  They each try to build words, but soon realize they need each other.

Play Ball: Robot plays baseball for the first time when he is invited to join the game against the Bug Team.

Bonus Features: Four build-a-word songs, “It’s Time To Rhyme” music video, and “Flying Ant” behind the scenes side-by-side animatic.

 Bright Green is a line of ecologically friendly products, including cleaning, laundry, light bulbs and paper products, sold exclusively at Safeway stores. 

Bright Green was developed in partnership with Scientific Certification Systems (SCS), a leading third-party provider of certification, auditing and testing services and standards in environmental protection and social responsibility. SCS reviewed each Bright Green™ product for naturally derived and biodegradable ingredients, post-consumer recycled content and energy efficiency.

I had an opportunity to use Bright Green’s cleaning products and was very satisfied. The name may be new – Safeway introduced this line just this past November – but it worked just as well for me as any leading brand of cleaner, with the added benefit of being made from biodegradable and naturally derived ingredients. 

The only downside for me is that unfortunately there is not a Safeway location in my area. 

If you do have a Safeway in your area, be sure to sign up for Safeway’s mailing list to receive coupons via email.  You can also load P&G coupons onto your Club Card. 

Thanks to the One2One Network, I had the opportunity to see Yanni Voices live in concert this past week and I can sum it all up in one word: A-MAZ-ING!  It was fabulous from start to finish, each voice, each instrument, each song, every single performance – and performer.

It was beautiful and very well arranged.  If Yanni Voices is coming to your area and you are on the fence about going or thinking you’ll pass it up, give it a better look and take a chance. It greatly exceeded my expectations, even though I had already heard a lot of great things about the performance.

I had so much fun! I took pics with my camera phone, but since it is being hormonal and will not send pic messages, I cannot retrieve those. Thankfully, my sister took some with hers (the ones you see in this post).  I also attempted to live-tweet the concert, but just discovered it went through to Facebook, but not Twitter. Weird.

My thoughts during the show:

Going to see Yanni Voices tonight!!

April 13 at 11:42am

Getting ready for the Yanni concert.

April 13 at 3:38pm

On the road… Headed to Yanni Voices! Also? It is raining. Eeek.

April 13 at 5:37pm

At our seats. Waiting for the show to begin!!

April 13 at 7:27pm

Listening to Leslie Mills @ Yanni Voices. Beautiful voice.

April 13 at 8:05pm

Chloe singing ‘Change’. Hauntingly beautiful.

April 13 at 8:17pm

Even when I have no idea what they are saying, the music is still very moving.

April 13 at 8:23pm

BTW, I’m loving One2One Network for sending me to see Yanni Voices. So amazing. I’m having a blast <and a girls night out!>. Thx!! Mmmwah!

April 13 at 8:39pm

Intermission @ Yanni Voices.

April 13 at 8:53pm

Ok, white lights shining @ crowd is not my fave thing. Blinding.

April 13 at 9:25pm

Hmmm… 1st number after intermission was pretty sultry.

April 13 at 9:28pm

Chello solo was amazing!

April 13 at 9:29pm

Victor on the harp. Something so magical about a harp.

April 13 at 9:45pm

Sending pics via twitpic & fb is out b/c my phone is obviously hormonal. Just saying.

April 13 at 9:49pm

Introducing orchestra… & moved right into a very upbeat song. Anyone wanna dance with me?

April 13 at 9:53pm

Everyone is on their feet & pumped!!!

April 13 at 9:57pm

Encore? Is it the end already?

April 13 at 10:01pm

Annnnd…. It is still raining. Also? Tornado watch. Nice.

April 13 at 10:20pm

It rained before, during, and after the show and sometimes I wondered if I was hearing thunder or an instrument!  We arrived home safe and sound after an awesome girls night out listening to Yanni Voices!!! Thank you Arianne for setting everything up for our awesome night!

The Stainless Baby/Toddler Cereal Bowls from Parenting By Nature are just the cutest bowls I have ever seen.  Before reviewing this set of bowls, I didn’t give a a lot of thought to the bowls we used. I’ve bought several sets of the basic bright colored plastic bowls sold in baby departments, and although they do the job they are basic. 

The Stainless Cereal bowl set is anything but basic.  They are adorable with soft colors and a cute animal picture on each bowl.  They have an especially nice look thanks to the stainless steel inside the bowl (and if you didn’t know that stainless is safer for your baby & toddler than plastic, Google it). 

Parenting By Nature has many other feeding items (including an all-stainless table set so that if you are pulling out the nice dishes for a special evening, you can do the same for your little one!) and other great stuff for moms and little ones (including cloth diapers).  They even have a gift registry. 

Sign up for their newsletter to receive coupons by e-mail to save on their awesome products!

Betty Crocker sent over a basket of great kitchen tools, I think in anticipation of luring me into a healthier, happier relationship with my kitchen. I love the “stuff”, but the jury is still out on the whole relationship thing.

The Mixer gift basket was filled with a Betty Crocker mixing spoon (and I’m pretty sure it is no longer mine since Lil Roo basically saw it, claimed it, and took off with it. I guess a large red spoon is just cool, LOL!), spatula, silver measuring spoons and cups (which I really like), whisk, plastic liquid measuring cup (basically the same size as the basic glass 1 cup ones, except this measures up to 2 ½ cups which means I won’t have to drag out the huge measuring cup for anything over 1 cup) and a Betty Crocker Magazine (125+ “Easy, Inspiring Ideas” – mostly cakes, cupcakes, cookies, and bars).

I have to say the book / magazine intriques me the most.  Cakes scare the crap out of me, so don’t anticipate me trying any of those out. The other stuff sounds somewhat reasonable, as I much prefer the attempt at baking instead of meal prep. (C’mon, surely you’ve noticed how irregular my attempts at meal planning are? And even when I plan, I don’t always follow the plan.)  There’s a recipe for Sunshine cupcakes that looks really cute and seeing the striking Princess cake (an actual 3D standing up princess) makes me glad at the moment that I do not have a girl. I would really want to make that – and the results could be diseasterous. Just saying.  I’m flipping through the book as I type this and am now having an “oh. my. goodness.” moment as I have found Coffee-Chocolate Chip Bars that look absolutely fab. Maybe I’ll make that my experiement with all my new cool tools and tell you all about it. For humorous purposes I am sure, LOL!

Incidently, the Chirpy Chick Cupcakes I made with Lil Roo for Easter were a Better Crocker recipe and they actually turned out well – until the part about turning them into cute lil chicky looking things. It went downhill from there.

I suppose there is hope for even me, and whether you are where I am or just want to learn a few new tips-n-tricks to add to your already extensive knowledge and expertise in the kitchen (or anywhere in between), you might want to check out the newest thing Miss Betty Crocker has up her sleeve!

Betty Crocker: The Mixer

Six free weekly classes

Live Betty Crocker experts

Connect with others

Tips & Tricks

Classes are held three times a week. Chat live with the Betty Crocker Kitchens Experts: Tuesdays 7 p.m. ET, Wednesdays 9 p.m. ET, and Saturdays 4 p.m. ET

Week #1 – Week of April 6 - Kickin Chicken Recipes and tips for making juicy, mouthwatering chicken

Week #2 - Week of April  13 - Pastabilities Secrets of building flavor that will allow you to create your own signature sauces

Week #3 - Week of April  20 - Greens with Envy Recipes for go-to salads

Week #4 - Week of April  27 - Viva Tortilla Taking taco night to a whole new level

Week #5 - Week of May 4 - Wok it Out Stir-fry techniques and recipes for easy flavorful sauces

Week #6 - Week of May 11 - Small Bites-Big Flavors Dips and appetizers that are easy and flavorful and guiltless desserts

But don’t worry!  If you miss it, you can always go back to watch the class on demand and get in on the conversation.

Oh – and did I mention it is completely FREE?  Head on over to Betty Crocker – The Mixer to sign up and get in on all the action! 

Annnnnnd…..

Betty Crocker wants to give one Shake The Salt reader their own Mixer gift basket!  To enter, tell me what the one cooking gadget in the kitchen is that you can’t live without.

 

Get an extra entry just for signing up for The Mixer club. (Leave an extra comment to let me know.)

 

Deadline to enter: Wednesday, April 22, 2009 @ 11:59 PM.

Planning our trip to Disney reminds me of Lil Roo’s last trip to a theme park – Seaworld.

It was simply amazing!

We were sent to visit the awesomeness by Izea and Seaworld and all I could say about that is a huge Thank You!  Our family had the best time, Lil Roo especially.  Even as I type this, the Shamu chant comes back to mind just as quickly as when I sat watching the show (twice!). And I’m sure it’ll be stuck in my head for a little while (then again each time I remember the trip!)  – but that’s ok, I love it! 

The Believe show is a must see, hands down. I think everyone has heard of Shamu, but until you see the show for yourself, you have no idea what you are missing. We didn’t feed the dolphins (which I now regret immensely) but we did get up close as they swam by and played – so cute!  We walked around and visited every water creature we could find as well as everything that wasn’t a water creature!

Highlights:

The Sky Tower: 400 feet up, we were able to see the entire park from a bird’s eye view as it rotated slowly & continuously in a circle.  It was a quiet and relaxing break from all the walking and activity of the park below.

Shamu’s Happy Harbor: Full-fledge fun for all the kiddos!  Lil Roo especially loved the pirate ship!

Shamu Stadium & The Believe Show: A-maz-ing. But I already told you that.

Water creatures galore!!  Wild Artic – especially the penguins!  Dolphins – he loved watching them play up close!  Shark Encounter, and so many others.

Yesterday afternoon, just before I left for the Yanni Voices concert, a rather large box arrived.  Hubs doesn’t pay much attention to my packages anymore, LOL, but this one got his attention, especially because it was so light.  We dug into it and the first thing he saw was a large basket & his reaction wasn’t as happy as mine, LOL!  I heart baskets and used to have quite the collection.  I decluttered and pared down and now only have a few, but in his mind he still saw the hundred baskets of “before” and thought “oh, no, a basket” Heehee.  All this before we even knew what the package was all about.

We quickly discovered a basket FULL of organizational products from 3M.  We are all familiar with the brand, no doubt (from Scotch tape to Post-Its to Scotch-Brite and lots of other innovative products), and have glanced at the different variety of hooks if we’ve happened upon that aisle while doing our shopping, but I for one did not have any idea just how many different type of hooks and such 3M actually made. 

A couple that jumped out at us right away was the Lightning McQueen kids hook (Lil Roo is a huge McQueen fan!) and the small organizer, which will be perfect for our scrub brushes, etc at the kitchen sink.  They’ve just been sitting behind the faucet, so this will get them off the surface and organized. Love it! 

I love the technology of the Command strips - strong sticky strips that hold the hooks & containers plus whatever you put on/in them and comes off clean without any surface damage when/if you decide to remove it. 

As I continue doing my spring cleaning, decluttering, and organizing, I will be making great use of these products, including:

Utensil Hooks (holds up to ½ lb)

Deco Medium Hooks (belts, etc, holds up to 3 lbs)

Spring Clip (important paperwork, treasured child’s drawing, etc)

Recharging Station (small plastic container ideal for any small electronic device or cell phone – I’m thinking it’ll be perfect by my desk for my cell or Mylo)

Disney Large Hooks (in addition to McQueen, there’s Hannah Montana, Camp Rock, and others; they each hold 5 lbs, perfect to get kids in on the organizing game! They’ll love using these!)

Medium Cord Clips (holds cords up to a diameter of 3/8”)

Cord Bundlers (holds up to 5 lbs of cords)

Antique Bronze Metal Hook & Brushed Nickel Finish Hook (each holds 5 lbs and look great!)

Bright Chrome Metal Hook, small (holds up to 1 lb)

Jumbo Hook (holds 7.5 lbs)

Sawtooth Picture Hanging Kit (holds pictures weighing up to 5 lbs)

Wire Backed Picture Hanger (holds up to 5 lbs; be sure to get the right set for the type of frames you are hanging)

Picture Hanging Strips (4 sets, each holds up to a 8”x10” frame; perfect for displaying pictures without puncturing the wall!)

Decorative Clips (clear and perfect for Christmas lights around windows or other decorating needs)

Micro Hooks (holds up to ½ lb – great for light keyrings, calendar, etc).

Their products are small, but can do big things in helping you get delcuttered and organized! For more ideas, visit their site to learn how you can simplify, organize, and decorate with these great products.

Save $1.00 on 3M Command Adhesive Picture Hanging products!