Mother’s Day Gifts Worth Giving … to Yourself

Breakfast in bed and homemade coupons for a back rub or car wash are nice, but as Mother’s Day comes and goes, continue celebrating by treating yourself to some of these great finds.

Pendants, bracelets and earrings from Popli Jewelry ($28-$42; www.popli.bigcartel.com are made from recycled vintage cookie, tea, fruitcake, biscuit and candy tins, a sweet way to recycle.  A portion of the proceeds from each sale goes to the Spoon Foundation, improving nutrition for orphaned, fostered and adopted children, one spoonful at a time.

Comfort your tired toes and slide on a pair of iPANEMA Summer Love Flip Flops ($25; Women’s sizes 5-10; www.ipanemausa.com) that focus on fit as well as fashion. Anatomic soles provide the much-needed cushion that is missing from most flip flops, while the large heart appliqué screams beach-time fun. Little girls’ sizes also available ($20).

 

Every girl deserves to glow!  Enjoy a refreshing, sweet-smelling scrub with KleanSpa’s Body Polish ($12.50; www.kleanspa.com) made from unrefined cane sugar and a blend of coconut, macadamia nut, sweet almond and shea oils.  Scents include Pomegranate-Fig, German Chocolate, KleanSpa Kolada, Ginger Tea, California Grapefruit and Blue Hawaii.  Get a different scent for each day of the week.

 

One sample from the Chocolate Kimono Box by Big Islands Candies ($21; www.bigislandcandies.com) and you will be hooked. The Big Island-made treats in this decorative box include a generous assortment of Milk Chocolate Dipped Original Macadamia Nut Shortbread Cookies, Original Macadamia Nut Shortbread and Coconut Shortbread Cookies, Dark Chocolate Covered Mint Brownies, Golden Macadamia Nut Brownies, Mika Coffee Chocolates and Hawaiian Macadamia Nut Toffee. Shipments to the mainland are delivered promptly to guarantee freshness.

 

 No matter how happy you are, there’s always room to add a little more.  In her New York Times best-seller, The Happiness Project ($14.99; www.happiness-project.com), Gretchen Rubin shares her one-year journey, to increase her happiness.  Intelligent and entertaining, Rubin’s findings are relatable and inspiring to anyone who wants a little more happiness in their life.  Also included in the book are tips on creating your own happiness project.

Shop Talk – Summer Favorites

Here are some cool gadgets and gizmos to complement your family’s sizzling Southern California summer adventures.

Go Skate!

Legendary skateboard brand Kryptonics has come out with Torpedo Skateboards ($39.99, Ages 8+, www.walmart.com), inspired by the colors of summer. With bright plastic decks and urethane wheels, these fun boards are sure to make a statement on the boardwalk.

Watch It Grow

Children can design and decorate a colorful tropical rainforest and watch a variety of plants grow in the Rainforest Biosphere by DuneCraft ($24.99, Preschool and up, www.dunecraft.com), a fun and educational project that will keep minds curious and stimulated all summer.

Stay Cool

Every SoCal kid has come into contact with a hot car seat buckle … ouch! Lulaclips ($14.99, Birth to 18 months, www.lulaclips.com) magnetically hold buckles out of the way, making it easy for your little one to get in and out of the car seat without getting burned. Easy to install and adjust, this clever gadget also keeps straps from twisting and tangling.

Label It

Make sure your camper’s stuff makes it back home this summer with the Limited Edition Camp Combo from Mabel’s Labels ($39.95, All ages, www.mabelslabels.com). These UV-resistant, waterproof labels and tags will withstand even the most rugged camper. Package includes 10 Sticky Labels, 24 Skinny-Minis, eight Shoe Labels, 50 Tag Mates, two Bag Tags and two friendship bracelets.

Roast Right

Kampgrounds of America (KOA) celebrates 50^th years of providing families with great camping experiences.  For all you s’mores lovers, they’ve come out with a special anniversary edition of the KOA Rolla Roaster ($9.95 per set of two, www.koarollaroaster.com), an extendable 42-inch rod with a stainless steel fork and a rotating knob that has perfected the art of marshmallow roasting.

Create a Classic

Master Kitz®; $29; Ages 4 to 12; www.kidzaw.com

Give your children an early appreciation of art with Master Kitz® by Kidzaw. These kits include everything needed to re-create masterpieces such as van Gogh’s The Starry Night or Sunflowers, Gustav Klimt’s The Tree of Life, Monet’s Water Lilies and Hokusai’s The Great Wave of Kanagwa.  The re-usable art toolbox contains paints, a specially designed roller, re-usable stencil, art paper, educational materials and easy-to-follow step-by-step instructions. Children will learn about each painting and its history and be encouraged to create their own interpretation of each masterpiece.

Game on!

Put the phone down and walk away from the computer!  Here are some great family games that encourage quality time … without electronics.

Great for the beginner players, French Toast Forgets His Lunch Board Game ($20; Ages 3 and up; www.haywiregroup.com) teaches preschoolers the basics of board game etiquette: taking turns, rolling the die and moving a game piece around a wonderfully illustrated board. Players help French Toast collect food items by filling up a lunch box-shaped card with matching tiles. The player who gets three tiles in a row on his card wins. The game is a snap to learn, game pieces and die are big and sturdy for little hands and no reading is necessary.

Knusper Hexe, or “Candy Witch” by HABA ($13; Ages 5 and up; HABA.de) is a clever game that children of all ages will enjoy. Using the toy’s box as a base, players construct a house of cards layering the candy cards to make a roof. Players then take turns trying to remove cards from the roof without making it collapse.  When the roof collapses, the person with the most cards gets a wooden candy piece.  The game is repeated until all the candy pieces are gone.

If you can’t get the family out to the golf course, try Grandpa Beck’s Golf ($10.99; Ages 8+; www.grandpabecksgames.com) inspired by the classic game played with face cards. In Grandpa Beck’s version, each player starts with nine cards face down in a three-by-three grid.  Players draw and discard, eventually revealing their hand and tallying up their strokes.  And just like in the real game of golf, the lowest score wins.

Spell It! Spell to Win! ($29.99; Ages 8+; www.blueorangegames.com) is the perfect game for competitive wordsmith families.  Roll the alphabet dice and call out a word that incorporates at least three of the five letters. Themed plays inspire quick thinking; Things in a Home: using letters M – I – A – F- Y?  Family.

What you roll on your die determines how you answer your question in this “name it to claim it” card game. Joe Name It ($9.99; Ages 12+; www.gamewright.com) fuels family conversation and gets players to use their brain power to prove that they’re smarter than the average Joe.

Toys for a Cause

Here are some quality children’s products from companies that care. Each supports a cause, teaches a life lesson and gives back to the community.

 

Tegu Blocks; $32 and up; Ages 1 month+; Available at www.tegu.com

Tegu Blocks are beautifully crafted wood embedded with magnets, helping them easily stick together and minimizing the frustration of tumbling towers and flattened fortresses. Tegu blocks come in natural or tinted colors and are safe for all ages, but their most intriguing feature is their background story.

The company was founded by brothers Chris and Will Haughey to create jobs for the people of Honduras, encourage entrepreneurship, and protect the country’s resources. Sustainable harvesting of Tegu materials lets the forest to properly regenerate, and the Tegu website encourages shoppers to make a donation to send a child to school or to plant a tree.

Dina Doll; $20; Ages 2 years+; Available at www.compasstocare.org

When Michelle Ernsdorff was a little girl undergoing treatment for childhood cancer, she had her baby sister, Dina, to keep her company. This inspired her to create the Dina Doll, a “friend” to accompany any child undergoing treatment. Each Dina Dolls carries a message of inspiration in her pocket and comes with a coloring book to help pass the time during travel and hospital visits.

Purchase a Dina Doll for a child you know, or donate one to a child with cancer. 100% of each purchase goes towards Ernsdorff’s nonprofit organization, Compass to Care, helping families arrange and finance travel and accommodations during cancer treatments – whether 10 or 1,000 miles away.

Prehistoric anamalz; $12.95; 36 Months – 6 Years; Available at www.anamalz.com

A 2011 NAPPA Children’s Products Honors winner, prehistoric anamalz are wooden creatures, super smooth to the touch, with bendable legs, fuzzy necks, rubbery plates and furry tails perfect for sparking imaginations of all sizes. These cute prehistoric figurines include Brontosaurus, Parasaurolophus, Stegosaurus, Torosaurus, Triceratops and Tyrannosaurus Rex, all ready for shaping into all sorts of silly poses.

anamalz is an Australian company dedicated to preserving the environment. Their products are made from sustainable maple wood and textiles, and portions of the proceeds from each purchase go anamalz saving animals, a trust fund that donates to wildlife and children’s organizations across the globe.

Visit their interactive website, anamalz.com, to read fun facts about Earth’s animals, meet other charming anamalz from their wild, farm and Australian collections and see them come to life.

All About Bullies … Big and Small! By Cool Beans Music/East Coast Recording; $15 for CD, $10 for download; Ages Preschool+; Available at www.allaboutbulliesbigandsmall.com

Producers Steve Pullara and Jim Cravero tackle a serious subject but still manage to entertain audiences of all ages in their latest Grammy-nominated release, All About Bullies … Big and Small! The compilation features 31 original tracks made just for this project and six vintage tracks – all addressing a problem that plagues hundreds of thousands of American kids each year.

Alt Rock band Blue October’s “Jump Rope” encourages kids to stay hopeful amid life’s ups and downs. Other contributions come from familiar artists including Steve Van Zandt, Peter Alsop, Steve Pullara and His Cool Beans Band, and Debbie and Friends, and many will help parents start a conversation about this critical topic.

The disc covers bullying of all types through funny songs and spoken word pieces, and I bet there isn’t one person – big or small – who cannot relate to at least one tale on this CD. Most tracks have happy endings with an element of forgiveness, acceptance or changing for the better.

All proceeds benefit the Pacer Center’s National Bullying Prevention Center, dedicated to uniting, engaging and educating communities to address and put a stop to bullying.

SpiritHoods; $79; Ages 4-12; Available at www.spirithoodskids.com

You’ve probably seen the latest trend in headwear – those beyond-cute animal-themed hats with attached mittens to keep little paws warm. You won’t see better quality and durability, though, than with SpiritHoods.

Hand made in Los Angeles with the finest faux fur, SpiritHoods keep the heat in and help children make a connection with nature.  Each SpiritHood has a lesson to teach, and on products marked with a PRO BLUE logo the company donates 10 percent of the net profits to a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping that specific animal.

Organizations that benefit from this program include: Polar Bears International, Snow Leopard Conservancy, Wolf Hollow and Pandas International.

SpiritHoods are sure to last more than a few winters, and their lesson in conservancy will last a lifetime.

Adult SpiritHoods are also available.

Sipping Made Simple

Lollacup; $18; Ages 9-months+; Available at www.lollacup.com 

So many little ones are going from breast straight to cup, skipping the bottle.  Here’s an innovative infant/toddler cup that makes sipping simple!

Lollacup, invented by a Mom for her daughter, has a sleek, clean, bird-like design that both parents and children will adore.  The cup features a flexible, weighted straw allowing little drinkers to get a successful sip each time, from most angles. One thing to note is that the cup was not designed to be spill-proof. Their main goal was to making sipping easy for the child.

Lollacup is made in the USA and all materials are FDA-approved, free of BPA and phthalates and is available in red, green, orange, purple, and black.

Cleaning is a cinch with a removable handle, wide opening and a cleaning brush made just for the straw.  Washing by hand is recommended.

Take Lollacup on the road … remove its handle and it will fit in most cup holders.

Oh Baby, Baby!

It’s an exciting time for expecting parents! Today’s baby gadgets and gear are safer than ever, innovative and make life easier for the new mom and dad.  Here are some recent finds:

Baby Silk Daily Skin Protection Moisturizing Balm by MD Moms, $20.00, www.mdmoms.com 

MD Moms, founded by mom pediatricians Diane Truong, M.D., and JJ Levenstein, M.D., offers a wonderful product line, Baby Silk – the first pediatrician-developed personal care line for babies – and I’ve strategically placed a bottle of their Daily Skin Protection Moisturizing Balm in every corner of my home.

This hydrating lotion is quick absorbing and contains shea butter, aloe, avocado oil, olive oil, marine silk, antioxidant vitamins E and B5 and grapeseed oil – all good things for Baby’s skin.  There are no complaints from my little one about the daily application as it goes on smooth as silk (there, I said it!), without a sticky residue. The balm is also available fragrance-free, but try the original first. The scent is light and fresh and easy on even the most sensitive nose. Both products are certified hypoallergenic and have been awarded the National Eczema Association’s Seal of Acceptance.

Baby Silk Daily Skin Protection Moisturizing Balm is also great for moms-to-be to use on their bellies and for those with sensitive skin. As an eczema sufferer, I have finally found a product that I can use every day without smelling like a baby’s tushie.

Other products in the Baby Silk line include Fragrance-Free Gentle All-Over Clean Hair and Body Wash, Gentle All-Over Clean Cleansing Towelettes, Delicate Skin Comfort Silky Liquid Powder, Soothing Bottom Relief Diaper Rash Cream, Gentle Scalp Rub Exfoliating Cleanser for Cradle Cap, Babysafe Sunscreen Towelettes SPF 30+ Broad Spectrum Sunscreen (a NAPPA Gold Winner), Daily UV Shield SPF 30+ Moisturizing Lotion and assorted gift sets.

Baby Riddle, prices vary, www.babyriddle.com

So many soon-to-be parents are torn between finding out the gender of their baby in advance or being “surprised” on delivery day. For those who want the surprise but don’t want to shop for gender-neutral pastel yellow or sage green newborn clothes, Baby Riddle is the perfect solution.

Here’s how it works: the expectant parents order a package from Baby Riddle. Parents can choose from “Take Me Home” outfits, pre-packaged box sets, or build their own. They print and fill out an authorization form giving their healthcare provider permission to reveal the gender of the baby directly to Baby Riddle. Three weeks prior to the baby’s due date, Baby Riddle ships a surprise box with gender-specific essentials for the parents to open when they are ready. Friends and family can also order gifts at babyriddle.com to add to the surprise delivery. Each garment is made of quality materials and is beyond adorable! Baby Riddle is offering a 25% discount to L.A. Parent readers plus a complimentary Aden + Anais Swaddle blanket with your first order.  Enter code LAPARENT at checkout.

Mealtrain.com, free, www.mealtrain.com

No matter how prepared a new mom or dad is, a fresh, home-cooked meal is always welcome during the first few weeks at home with Baby. After all, who wants to defrost lasagna or eat takeout every day?

Mealtrain.com is a free online calendar tool that makes it easy to organize meals for friends who need help. No more double booking or double casseroles.

Mealtrain allows for families to list their food preferences and the dates and times of desired deliveries. Invitations are sent via email or Facebook, and reminder emails and calendar updates are sent to participants.

“While these meals are directly beneficial to the recipient,” says Mealtrain co-founder Michael Laramee, “the power of mealTrain.com is its ability to foster giving and create stronger community support networks.” And you bet it’s working. To date, Mealtrain has helped more than 27,000 families receive more than 235,000 meals.

Fuzzibunz One Size Elite Pocket Diaper, $19.99, Ages: Birth to Toddler, www.FuzziBunz.com

I am a big proponent of cloth diapers, always touting their benefits to Baby and the environment, and also their ease of use – contrary to what most people think.  Fuzzibunz One Size Elite Pocket Diaper takes cloth diapering one step further. Invented by a stay-at-home mom in search of a diapering alternative for her son who was plagued with diaper rash from disposable diapers, FuzziBunz diapers are made up of a waterproof outer barrier, a soft micro fleece inner layer that pulls away moisture, and a unique, pocket-style opening that lets a parent customize the absorbency by inserting super absorbent micro-terrycloth pads. The Fuzzibunz One Size Elite Pocket Diaper has a snapping system that grows with your child – from birth to potty training – and includes two pad inserts and extra replaceable elastic. These are quite possibly the softest diapers I’ve ever felt – like the softest fleece blanket against Baby’s soft skin. Pure heaven.

Babiators; $19.99, Ages 3 Months to 3 Years, www.babiators.com

Everyone wants a stylish – and well protected – baby. Babiators are aviator sunglasses for babies and were designed by an F-18 fighter pilot who understood the importance of protecting babies’ eyes from the sun. They fit snugly on Baby’s little face, offer 100% UV protection, and are made without BPA, phthalates, or lead-based paint. The pliable rubber frames withstand the twisting, pulling and stretching of even the most curious little hands.  Babiators are available in small and large sizes, in Black Ops Black, Blue Angels Blue, Rockstar Red and Princess Pink. Another reason we like these? A portion of Babiator profits goes to the Children’s Eye Foundation whose mission is to eliminate preventable blindness in children.

MochiKo, the Paci Buddy by Spotlightbaby, $24.99, Ages: 6 months and up, www.spotlight-baby.com

MochiKo (translation: Rice Cake Nose) is an adorable snuggle buddy that keeps Baby’s pacifier from falling to the ground by securing itself to a car seat or stroller. MochiKo is eco-friendly, made of naturally soft, sustainable non-toxic bamboo fibers and cotton; and is manufactured by Spotlightbaby a company that specializes in products that promote sensory development. Paci Buddy’s ears, nose and knots provide different textures to promote sensory stimulation and encourage hand manipulation skills.