Is Your "Natural" Baby Product Really Natural?

Have you ever wondered whats in your child's body wash or toothpaste?  Or even your sun screen and make up kit?

EWG Skin Deep

Launched in 2004, Environmental Working Group's (EWG) Skin Deep Cosmetic Database is an online safety guide for cosmetics and personal care products.  Skin Deep aims to help people find safer products, with fewer ingredients that are hazardous or that haven't been thoroughly tested. The Database fills in where industry and government leave off. Companies are allowed to use almost any ingredient they wish, while the U.S. government doesn't review the safety of products before they're sold. You can search more than 69,000 products at the Skin Deep database!

You can also follow Skin Deep on Facebook. 

Kids Consignment

Have your kids grown out of a closet full of clothes overnight?  What do you do with their hardly used clothes? 

KiDtoKiD

KidtoKid is a consignment store where you can convert your kids stuff in to $cash$ by selling their gently used clothes, toys, and furnishing.  They also sell all the great brands you and your kids have grown to love, including Abercrombie, Limited Too, Gap, and Gymboree!

KidtoKid is located in Greenbrook, NJ and  has 74 other locations (as of December 2011) - all over US (and also Portugal!).

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You can also explore central NJ's largest consignment sale at Kidzsignments! Sales are organized twice a year in  Edison, NJ - October, and Flemington, NJ.

New2YouKids also offers twice a year consignment sales (September and March).  Check out their website for Spring 2012 sale details.

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Kids Consignment Sales

Kids Consignment Sales is a great resource to look up consignment stores and sales through out US and Canada.  Click here to find a consignment sale near you!

Little Hands Making Big Discoveries @ Bricks 4 Kids





Bricks 4 Kidz



Get creative with the bright, colorful LEGO® bricks of every size and description your child can imagine at Bricks 4 Kidz®.  This creativity center is a safe, fun, enriching place for children of all ages.  Kids learn, build and play, while developing teamwork, creativity, and problem solving techniques.  Bricks 4 Kidz® offers after school programs, as well as Mommy-and-Me classes for preschoolers.  

Bricks 4 Kidz also allows you to experience a novel birthday party with the LEGO® bricks.  For more information click here.

Bricks 4 Kidz® has locations in Jersey City, Hoboken, Southern New Jersey and Jersey Shores.  You can also find them at various places through out US and Canada. 

When You Are Expecting Multiples...

What is the go to book for a mommy to be, you ask?  Most of my friends have referred to What to Expect When You Are Expecting, by Heidi Murkoff and Sharon Mazel!  This is an excellent book walking your through each step of your pregnancy!

However, what do you do when you are expecting multiples?  Some of the question you may face are... How much weight do you need to gain (say 50 lbs?) and how do you bulk up on those super extra calories?  How do you find a Maternal/Fetal Medicine (MFM) specialist - doctor?  How do you handle months of bedrest and possible complications (to name a few: early on set of Gestational Diabetes, Intrauterine Growth Restriction, Twin to Twin Transfusion, Preterm Labor)?  What to possibly expect in the NICU (... Neonatal Intensive Care Unit).  How do you survive the first several months of multiples at home? 

When You're Expecting Twins, Triplets or Quads

You can find answers to  the above questions in Dr. Barbara Luke's, When You're Expecting Twins, Triplets, or Quads. Dr. Luke outlines a practical, nutrition-based program to keep Mommy and  babies healthy during this unique pregnancy experience! Besides the nutritional information, she also offers a comprehensive tour of what you can expect during the pregnancy and childbirth. Women who have followed Dr. Luke's guidelines, have had significantly fewer complications during pregnancy - and their babies are born weighing 20 to 35 percent more than the average twin, triplet, or quad.

Dr. Luke also has a website, where you can find answers to many of your questions. 

This book was truly a blessing in our journey through the twin pregnancy.  It gave us an insight about the possible issues we could have faced and prepared us for asking the right questions to our medical team at the right time. 

Joann Fabric & Craft - Kids Studio!

Joann

Joann Fabric and Craft Store organizes cake decoration, crafting and sewing/knitting classes at their Kids Studio for children 5 years and up!

Find the closest location to you - here!  Currently, you can save up to 50% on select classes!

You can also Make it a Party at Joann!  Joann leads the birthday parties, while your kids have unlimited fun!

Experience Free Art & Culture Events With Target

Target Art & Culture

Through Target's Community Outreach Program, you can visit local art, cultural events and museums in cities around US (including places like Boston, Tampa, Dallas, Portland...) for free/reduced price.  In NYC, you can experience places like: The Children's Museum of Manhattan, MoMA, Carnegie Hall on certain days of the month (including weekends).

You can also explore their reading, volunteerism, crisis relief, social service events here.

Kids Event at Pottery Barn

From holiday story times to pajama parties... or a weekly story time (every Tuesday morning) to National Geographic Little Explorer's event... Find your closest Pottery Barn Kids and explore their book club and kids event!

Child Friendly Cinema Cafe!

Dunellen Theater & Cinema Cafe, located at 458 North Ave, Dunellen, NJ 08812 (contact: 732-968-9010) offers a unique child friendly atmosphere. Your entire family can enjoy family oriented and children's movies, and a tavern style dinner at a very reasonable cost.

Tickets:

Adults (12+): $7

Senior Citizens & Children (11 & under): $5

The theater also offers birthday party packages.  For more information, click here!

You can also find them on Facebook.

Free Kids Workshop at Lowes & Home Depot

Have you ever thought of building an outdoor play house or a bird feeder... or simply designing and painting a playroom with your kids?  Check out the FREE Kids Workshop at Lowes & Home Depot!

Workshops at The Home Depot stores are held 1st Saturday of every month between 09:00 am and 12:00 noon.  The DIY workshop is designed for kids age 5-12.  All kids get to keep their craft and receive a FREE Kids Workshop Apron, commemorative pin and certificate of achievement.

Give your child the opportunity to say, "I built it!" at the Lowes Build and Grow kid's clinics organized every Saturday's at 10 am.  Each participant also receives a free apron, goggles, a project themed patch, and a certification of merit upon completion of their project.

A Bible to Breastfeeding Mothers!

When women get together and start swapping stories of the days when their babies were small and the subject of breastfeeding comes up, chances are at least one woman will say, "I couldn't make enough milk, so I had to quit nursing".  If the subject changes quickly, no one gets to hear the sadness behind those words or the questions that could be asked: "What happened? Did anyone give you a reason?"  That's where this book comes in to picture, The Breastfeeding Mother's Guide to Making More Milk, by Diana West, IBCLC, and Lisa Marasco, M.A., IBCLC. Almost like a bible to breastfeeding mothers, above, are the forewords from the same book!

Facing the challenge of raising twins, I knew there was a chance that I could face problems with milk supply.  Thanks to a couple of my online twin Mommy friends, I chanced upon this book and read every page of it before my twins arrived.  I could successfully and exclusively provide for my twins till 8 months (no supplementing with formula), and then until I stopped at 10 months!  I can not review this book in any better words than the above mentioned fact!  

 

The book covers topics including but not limited to: supply and demand, hormones, lifestyle, working moms, galactogogues (milk supply enhancing herbs and medicines), pumping, prematurity, baby behaviour due to physiological or genetic abnormalities, mother's emotional well being, assessing and planning for next pregnancy... and many more such topics.  The author also has a website which can provide you with more information - see here.

Some other good resources for breastfeeding and parenting are:

Kelly Mom

La Leche League 

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Every individual is biologically different, and nursing experience can never be the same for every Mother.  Unfortunately, most women enter motherhood with the presumption that nursing is a very natural act, which is not always the case.  It takes a lot of determination and perseverance, along with a strong family support!  And finally, no matter what the outcome is, what matters most is a healthy-happy Mommy and Baby! 


Are there any breastfeeding books, forums or websites you would refer to a new Mom?  Please feel free to share!

Bilingual Kids

Recently, there was an article in New York Times --- Hearing Bilingual: How Babies Sort Out Language (October 10, 2011), which very well describes how bilngualism develops and benefits young mind.

Are your kids Bilingual?  How do you teach them two languages?  What language do you introduce any new object in?  How has bilnigualism changed with age/time? 

Would love to hear about your experience!

Jumping Jacks!

Pump It Up, The Inflatable Party Zone

Jumping, bouncing, structured play, art work... or a birthday party!  Pump It Up has it all, and can be found in NJ at Randolph, Freehold, Marlton, Secaucus, Piscataway (coming soon), Hamilton and Roselle Park. 

Pump It Up also has several locations through out US. (check locations here!)

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The Jumping Jungle, Where Kids Can Monkey Around

The Jumping Jungle was voted as the BEST place for Kids' Birthday Parties, BEST Family Recreation Facility and BEST Indoor Amusements!!

The Jungle is located at 10 Alvin Court, Suite 100 in East Brunswick, NJ 08816 ((732) 613-JUMP (5867)).  The jungle is open Wednesday and weekends and by reservations.  Please visit their website for more details.

The Children's Museum @ Bridgewater, NJ - Schedule

Schedule for 2012 at The Children's Museum in Bridgewater, NJ is up on their website (click here).

Events will be held on the weekend and include:

Rainforest Canopy (January 8)

Journey Back in Time: Rocks, Mineral, and Dinosaurs (January 15)

Science Magic Day, With Annual Fruit Rolling Competition (February 5)

Let's Get Going! Mostly Trains and Automobiles (February 18)

Music From Many Cultures (March 4)

Astronomy & Flight Day (March 17)

Robots II (April 1)

Game & Puzzle Day, With a Scavenger Hunt (April 21)

Somerset County Fair (August 8)

The Museum is located at The PeopleCare Center, 120 Finderne Avenue, Bridgewater, NJ (just south of Rt 28).

$3/per child donation is suggested for visitors.  The Museum can be reached at somersetcminfo@gmail.com or via phone at 908-595-0001.  You can also find them on Facebook.

I will be putting up reminders as the event dates get closer!

World of B Toys!

Welcome to the World of B!

B toys are creative, intelligent, delightful, vibrant, yet simple! All the toys are lead, phthalates and BPA free and are made of wood, plastics, cloth, ribbon and many such materials!

We have owned B toys for over a year now, and none of them have broken or malfunctioned yet.  We have thus far adopted the Zanny Zoo (pictured on right; courtesy: Target), Wheeee-Is, Param Pum Pum, One Two Squeeze Blocks, Meowsic (see toys here)!  We have also gifted several of these toys to our friends and they absolutely love them! 

B Toys can be purchased at Target ($cheapest$), Amazon and sometimes Costco.  For more locations, click here.  You can also find them on Facebook!

B Toys also supports Free The Children, which is the world's largest network of children helping children through education, with more than one million young people involved in innovative programs in 45 countries.

Micheals - Art Events

Visit Michaels Crafting Events to explore your creative inspiration!  Every weekend, Michaels conducts artsy events for young kids (ages 3+) to adults.  Events include: painting, knitting & crochet, jewelery making, scrapbooking, soldering, cake decoration, seasonal (Christmas ornament, Thanksgiving events)... and much more. 

Michael's also provides space for organizing kids birthday parties!

Holiday Light Spectacular @ Turtle Back Zoo

Experience the Turtle Back Zoo in the winter as 100,000 bulbs and 40 lit displays illuminate the zoo this holiday season!

Address: 560 Northfield Ave, West Orange, NJ 07052
Phone: 973-731-5800

Fees: Admission is free for 2011!

Dates: December, 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, 16 to 23, 26 to 31, and January 1

Time: 05:00 pm to 09:00 pm

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Help keep the gift of giving alive! Turtle Back Zoo will be collecting non-perishable food and unwrapped new toys for the needy each evening of holiday lights. Help the lights shine a little brighter this year with your donation.

Winter Holiday Spectacular @ The Children's Museum (Paramus, NJ)

Step inside the fully decorated Winter Wonderland at the The Children's Museum in Paramus, NJ. Each museum exhibit at the wonderland area will be transformed into a festive, holiday theme!  Come meet Santa, listen to holiday sing-a-longs, story time, and puppet shows and more...

Other specials:

• Make a special holiday craft in Santa's workshop
• Princess Meet and Greet from 11:00 am to 01:00 pm
• Super Heroes and Surprise characters 02:00 pm to 04:00 pm

Address: 599 Valley Health Plaza, Paramus, NJ 07652 
Phone: 201-262-5151

Fees: $14.99 per child, $10.00 for adults

Dates: December 10, 11, 17 and 18

Time: 10:00 am to 06:00 pm

Santa Claus Special @ The Whippany Railway Museum

It's the time of year when Santa Claus invites one and all to celebrate the coming Christmas Season with Family and Friends by riding the rails onboard the Whippany Railway Museum's Santa Claus Special excursion trains.

Trains depart rain or shine from the Whippany Railway Museum grounds in Morris County, New Jersey. The ticket office opens at noon on the day of the event, but it is highly recommended that you purchase your tickets ONLINE in advance. Tickets can be purchased here.

The 10-mile, 45-minute round trip excursion from Whippany to Roseland and return allows riders time to enjoy the Spirit of the Season and the merriment on the train. During each excursion, Santa makes his way through the train and visits with every child onboard. Santa's helpers follow along, giving the kids a special gift from Santa. Be sure to bring your camera and take pictures of the kids with Santa, so they can always remember their day onboard the train!

In order to allow time for ticket printing & processing for excursion events, online ticket sales may end 3 to 4 days prior to departure. After that time, any available seats for that excursion will be sold on the day of the excursion at Whippany Ticket Office on a first come first served basis. 

Address: 1 Railroad Plaza, Whippany , NJ (map)
Phone: (973) 887-8177

Fees: Adults (age 13 and up): $13, and Kids: $8

Dates: December 4, 10, 11, 17 and 18

Time: 01:00 pm, 02:00 pm, 03:00 pm and 04:00 pm

Rainforest Canopy @ The Children's Museum (Bridgewater, NJ)

What: Rainforest Canopy at The Children's Museum!

Where: 120 Finderne Ave, Bridgewater, NJ (map)

When: Sunday, January 8th, 2011 between 10:00 am and 02:30 pm

Coco Key Indoor Water Park

Zip around New Jersey's Ultimate Indoor Water Park... CoCo Key is located at 915 New Jersey 73 Mount Laurel, NJ 08054 (contact: 856-234-7300) (@ NJ Turnpike exit 4). A tropical escape from the everyday just got easier (even in winter)!!

CoCo Key is perfect for small kids, with most of the area having water depth of around 1-2 feet, and steps, spouts, slides easily accessible... even a toddler can very easily navigate through the water park.  There are very few slides which are steep or super fast, so if you are looking for a thrilling experience for older kids (teenagers +), this might not be a place for you!  Plus, this is park is completely indoors and not very easy to get lost in!  You can choose to stay here over night as well. 

Paint Your Own Pottery!

Pottery Painting is a great way for kids of all ages to explore their creativity!  It is also a no-stress activity for Mommy, since there is no clean-up involved! :)

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Make Me Take Me is located at 248 Raritan Ave., Highland Park, NJ 08904 (contact: 732-246-3888, 800-630-6056). They accepts walk-in painters and also takes reservations for parties.

How it works:

1. Choose from a selection of ceramic pieces.

2. Paint using any of the colors offered!

3. Make me Take Me glazes and fires it, and the pieces are ready for pick up in 7 days.

Cost: Studio fee + ceramic piece.

Studio fee of $5 for children and $7 for adults.

Ceramic pieces start at $2 a piece.

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Color Me Mine has several locations in NJ (and several places around the world) as listed below:

30 Olcott Square, Bernardsville, New Jersey 07924 (contact: 908-953-9000)

3130 State Route 10, Denville, New Jersey 07834 (contact: 973-989-0004)

3710 Rt.#9, Freehold, New Jersey 07728 (contact: 732-780-7811)

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549 Route 130, Hamilton, New Jersey 08691(contact: 609-581-9500)

254 E. Ridgewood Ave. Ridgewood, New Jersey 07450 (contact: 201-612-3320)

438 Springfield Ave. Summit, New Jersey 07901 (contact: 908-598-0248)

1877 Hooper Avenue, Toms River, New Jersey 8753 (Ccntact: 732-864-9300)

They accepts walk-in painters and also takes reservations for parties.

How it works:

1. Choose from their selection of over 600 ceramic pieces.

2. Paint using any of the 60 colors!

3. Color Me Mine glazes and fires it, and the pieces are ready for pick up in 7 days.

Cost: Studio fee + ceramic piece.

Studio fee of $6 for painters 9 and under.

Studio fee of $9 for painters 10 and older.

Ceramic pieces start at $3 a piece.

The Children's Museum Survey

Here is a link to the survey designed by the Director, Tom Davidson, of The Children's Museum of Somerset County (located at Bridgewater, NJ).  Your involvement in the survey will enable The Children's Museum to design their program for 2012.

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Disclaimer:  The survey was recieved by me via email as a part of the mailing list for The Children's Museum, and is just my attempt to spread the word. 

Holidays Around The World @ The Children's Museum (Bridgewater, NJ)

What: Holidays Around the World at The Children's Museum!

Where: 120 Finderne Ave, Bridgewater, NJ (map)

When: Sunday, December 4th, 2011 between 01:00 pm and 05:00 pm

Chocolate Show @ NYC

What: Chocolate Show

Where: 125 West 18th Street, New York, NY (map)

When: November 10th through 13th, 2011

The 14th Annual New York Chocolate Show, presented by Event Internationalis the largest show completely dedicated to celebrating all things chocolate. Considered the chocolate hub of North America, this show brings together more than 65 fine chocolate companies to present a diverse array of fine chocolates and chocolate-inspired products that tantalize the senses.

This year’s Chocolate Show will also feature book signings by award-winning authors; cooking demonstrations in two culinary theatres featuring renowned chocolatiers and pastry chefs who will share secrets of the trade; a Kids Zone dedicated to fun-filled activities for young chocolate lovers and more!

You can buy your tickets here!

Robots @ The Children's Museum - Bridgewater, NJ

What: Robots at The Children's Museum!

Where: 120 Finderne Ave, Bridgewater, NJ (map)

When: Saturday, November 12, 2011, between 10:00 am and 03:00 pm.

Welcome!

I am a busy Mommy of twins, who loves to plan, organize and participate in events which are fun, educational and affordable.  This includes trips to museums, play gyms, safari, festivals, farmers markets... finding good value for money on kids items... helping spread the word about activities, charity events and surveys!

This blog is my attempt to put together all the research I do and fun things I have found in one place.  Activities listed here are by no means solely owned by me or organized by me.

Hope you can find some interesting "Things To Do" for your family on my blog!