EcoBrain: Green Books for Green Living October 7, 2008
Posted by mommylounge in Uncategorized.Tags: blog giveaway, ebook, EcoBrain Giveaway, Green living, Radical Simplicity
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Going to the library is a weekly routine and I always love to search the used book section. This past week I felt like I struck gold–it was buy one get one free! The library sells it’s overstock paperback at .25 each and the hard cover books at .50. This time we came out with 3 books for the girls and one very cool book (Meditations for Women Who Do Too Much) for me. I have always been a bookworm and usually cheap and free are at the top of my list. I would rather buy a used book before I buy a new book. That’s just how I’ve been since I could read. My first memory of buying my own books was at the book swap we had every year in elementary school. I think it worked this way; you bring your old books you want to swap and you can pick the same number from the books collected. This is where I get my rush from shopping. It’s all about the bargain.
Reneca believes in getting used books as well. She just got a huge box of preschool books from her neighbor. In her opinion it always better to reuse things rather than buy new. Finding books for free coincides with her mission in life: Bargains.
In this day and age it’s about the bargain but also about living green. You hear that slogan everywhere but how do you live green? Where do you learn to do that? How can you be more ‘green’ when it comes to books? There is a new family owned online ebook store, EcoBrain, that provides ‘quality material that is fairly priced, respects the earth and helps to educate customers about living a greener life’.
EcoBrain provides many ebooks covering different subjects, but all with the environment in mind. Some of the categories that caught my eye where cooking, ecobrain kids, and gardening. The prices also seemed reasonable ranging from $1 to $20 and above. Downloading an ebook gives you the option of reading from your computer, hand-held device or printing off the pages you want on recycled paper. EcoBrain also provides the opportunity for new publishers to produce their material more quickly, cheaply, and profitably.
What EcoBrain has come up with is amazing and I’ve come up with the top three reasons that you should go check it out for yourself;
EcoBrain is very dedicated to spreading the word about their efforts to support sustainability and green living. They are allowing us the chance to GIVEAWAY a very cool ebook to one lucky blogger!
This is our first giveaway! Yipee! The prize is an ebook from EcoBrain, Radical Simplicity, by Jim Merkel . I know that I get confused trying to figure out what’s recyclable or not. And this book is the first book that guides the reader to a personal sustainability goal. You should click the link and check it out!
How to enter:
Leave a comment with your email address.
Speechless Sunday September 28, 2008
Posted by mommylounge in Uncategorized.Tags: baby pictures
1 comment so far
Kiara 3 months
Happy BIRTH day! September 25, 2008
Posted by mommylounge in Uncategorized.Tags: custom leather baby shoes, customized baby gifts, family, family traditions, grandparent gift ideas, grandparents day, motherhood, newborn baby gift, unique personalized baby gifts
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We wanted to give a very big Happy BIRTH Day to a new baby boy! He was born to college friends of ours and we wanted to get them a special keepsake gift. We both brainstormed ideas for newborn baby gifts. As we thought we both recalled the gifts that we had been given and the gifts our moms treasured from our birth. I brought up that as a child I remember dusting my mom’s bookshelves and seeing the tiny little shoes she had kept of mine. A pair of my brothers tennis shoes and my custom leather baby shoessitting next to his. It has my name written in gold ink along with my birthday. I would love to look at those shoes over and over and be reminded how tiny I used to be. Once I told Reneca this, she fessed up to her mom having saved her baby booties, keeping them on her mantel too! Is this like an 80’s mom thing? I don’t know, but everyone doesn’t go around bragging about thier keepsake baby shoes, but it is kind of a good idea! Right?! Giving a new mom a unique personalized baby gift is way more memorable than the giving her the trendiest diaper bag.
Not only do new moms love customized baby gifts, but we know that Grandparents do too! Grandparents always love special gifts from their grandchildren. We usually give the Grandparents hand painted picture frames, clay pots, sticker pictures and “special” leaves and rocks we find on our walks. So, now that we remember the coolness of the personalized shoe we know exactly what they will get for Christmas. It doesn’t matter that our children can’t wear the shoes anymore, but it will be a reminder of their grandchildren as newborns and be a treasured keepsake that can be passed down.
By the way, did you know that Grandparents Day was last week?! I saw it on the calendar after the fact and I feel a little bad for not at least acknowledging the Grandparents formally. We are pretty sure that it is a Hallmark holiday anyway. To make up for it I had Journey and Faith draw and paint a bunch of pictures to give to them!
Well, even if it is a hallmark holiday it is still our choice to make it a tradition or not. Since becoming mothers Reneca and I have began to realize how much of a role we have in starting and carrying out family traditions. Family traditions are important and creates a bond that will last forever. I’m sure we all have fond memories of certain family traditions that we want to continue in our families. Even if personalized baby shoes may seem a little outdated now I did have fond memories of them and that is what is most important. Creating those fond memories for people we love! How sweet!
Just out of curiousity…does anyone else have personalized baby shoes or booties from their childhood that were kept as keepsakes? Leave a comment and let us know!
Kalisha and Reneca
Make a funny face! September 22, 2008
Posted by mommylounge in La Cocina, Uncategorized.Tags: cook with your kids, fun lunch ideas, Funny face sandwiches, ham sandwich
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Good morning! I (Reneca) got this really cool cook book that has Silly Snacks, Classroom Treats, and cookie Dough Fun (3 books in 1). They have the cutiest little recipe for sandwiches that I’m certain your little ones will love!
Funny Face Sandwich Melts
* 2 English muffins, split and toasted (you could use toast cut in a circle
* French’s Sweet & Honey Mustard (or what ever condiment your child likes best)
*1 can of crushed pineapple, drained
* 8 ounces of sliced smoked ham (or turkey)
* 4 slices of Swiss cheese or white American cheese
- Place English muffins , cut side up , on baking sheet. Spread each with 2 teaspoons mustard. Arrange one-fourth of the pineapple, ham and cheese on top, dividing evenly.
- Broil until cheese melts, about 1 minute. Decorate with mustard and assorted veggies to create your own funny face.
Makes 4 servings
You can also prepare this in the toaster oven..
Prep time:10 minutes
Cook time: 1 minute
You kids will love creating funny faces with the veggies. When finished, have fun showing your own funny faces!
Have a great, fun filled day.
Reneca and Kalisha
Speechless Sunday September 21, 2008
Posted by mommylounge in speechless sunday.Tags: sisters, pictures
3 comments
Kiara 6 months, Kaleah 3 years
“Live in Our Skinz!” September 18, 2008
Posted by mommylounge in Friday Fundays, Uncategorized.Tags: motherhood, kids swim shirts, swim shirts, uvskinz swim shirt, skin cancer, american cancer society, melanoma, sun protection
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My eyes have truly been opened to the importance of sun protection. I was shocked to find out that skin cancer is most deadly among african-americans, asians and latinos. I am african-american and growing up in Colorado I never saw the importance of using sun block or wearing a hat on a regular basis. I remember before we went swimming or to the amusement park, my Mom would make my brother and I put on sunblock, but other than that I didn’t wear any. I figured that since I was darker complexted that I didn’t need sun protection. Now that we live in California and my daughters are of mixed race, sun protection for them has become important to me. We frequent the park so much that I have thought about setting up a tent out there and I always make sure they wear sunblock. Hats are another topic. Those sometimes stay on and usually end up thrown on the ground somewhere along the way. Well, I found the solution of excellent sun protection along with style!
Journey and I had the opportunity to try out a very cool uv swim shirt called UV Skinz. I had her wear her Hot Pink/Orange “Olivia” style shirt all day; to the grocery store, park, walking Sterling and she liked wearing it so much she wanted to wear it to bed! After we first put the shirt on I asked Journey a few questions to get the two-year old perspective on this new swim shirt:
What do you think of the shirt?
“It’s pretty!”
(She looked down at the shirt and pointed to the UV Skinz logo)
“I like these.”
Is it soft?
“Yeah…very soft!”
It looked like a very comfortable and soft shirt. She got many compliments on the swim shirt and the color complimented her skin tone so perfectly. I felt good about her wearing the shirt all day because I knew that it met the Australian Radiation approval of excellent protection with a 50+ UPF (ultraviolet protection factor). UV Skinz is a one of a kind product and they have distinctive attributes; the “silky smooth material has just the right blend of nylon and spandex, flat-locking stitching throughout the entire garment to eliminate irritating seams, a unique ‘name tag’ in the collar to keep track of the kids’ shirts and a fun and popular silicone bracelet for the kids to enjoy as an added bonus.”
It was like an added bonus for Journey to have her special bracelet and Rhonda even sent an extra one for Faith. It had the slogan, “Live in our skinz!” written on it and I couldn’t agree more after trying out this swim shirt. Not only is the shirt of the highest quality, but UV Skinz was started out of love and passion. I love to hear inspiring stories of motherhood and especially like to support Mom-prenuers. UV Skinz was started in 2005, when Rhonda Sparks (Founder and UV Team Captain) lost her 32-year-old husband to melanoma, the deadliest from of skin cancer. She took her loss and turned it into a life long mission to protect kids and adults from the sun.
UV Skinz are not just for swimming. Because of the breathable light weight feel these skinz can be worn while doing all sorts of outdoor activities. And like I said, Journey wanted to sleep in hers and I’m sure she is not the only tot so comfortable in their shirts that they won’t take them off! You don’t have to worry about itchy skin because UV Skinz are chemical-free and silky-smooth.
So, while Journey and I were giving the shirt it’s test run I couldn’t help but think all day that, “Hey! I want one too!” So, I browsed the catalog and was so amazed at all of the cool colors and designs they have for adults. I know since having two kids I haven’t felt totally comfortable wearing a two piece to the beach, but UV Skinz has new boy cut swim short that coordinate perfectly with their short or long sleeve swim shirts. The whole family can wear these skinz even from age 6 months and up. You can check out all of the UV Skinz swim shirts at www.uvskinz.com!
I’m very pleased with these swim shirts and even more comitted to keeping my girls, myself and Brett safer in the sun. You should go see what they have to offer and join Rhonda and her UV Team to raise awareness about the potential dangers of the sun and to “get kids covered!”
Kalisha
Let Them Eat Cake! September 18, 2008
Posted by mommylounge in Uncategorized.Tags: motherhood, baby shower gifts, baby cakes, diaper cakes, baby gift ideas
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We have been cake obsessed for almost two weeks now. Not just cake obsessed but everything that has to do with a birthday party. In both of our households cake, birthday parties and all the extras that come along with it have been very exciting topics. We’re not talking about birthday parties today because we found an even better kind of cake! Like we’ve mentioned before a lot of our friends or relatives are expecting and we are always on the look out for unique baby gifts. We found a place where you can one-stop shop for the most amazing kind of cakes; the Diaper Cake!
At Lilbabycakes.com they offer the cutest hand-crafted diaper cakes. We noticed as we browsed the site that they have so many unique ideas to fit any baby shower theme or interest. They even have a budget friendly selection that any new mom to be would be happy to receive. These would make memorable and unique baby shower gifts for any baby celebration. Baby cakes is a great group gift idea! All mommies buying this for the mom-to-be could splurge and all pitch in to buy the Captivating 6-tier Diaper Cake. It is their largest diaper cake ever with
- Approximately 170 Pampers Swaddlers brand diapers
- Gund Ultra Soft, Babies New Best Friend Manny The Massive 28 inch Teddy Bear
- Silk Daisy Flower Accents
- Burts Bees Luxury Baby Soaps, Shampoo & Lotions
- Cute Embellishments & High End Ribbon & Bows
Amazing! When I gave birth to Faith a friend of mine gave me a 3 month supply of diapers as a gift. I appreciated that gift so much I could only imagine how someone would feel to get this as a baby gift. Reneca knows from experience how cool it is to get one of these diaper cakes. Since she had two small girls when DJ was born her diaper cake gift was such a life-saver. It included newborn onesies, bibs, toiletries and toys. These lil’ diaper cakes are a really special and big gift!
We are big believers in creating family traditions. Starting the tradition of giving and receiving these beautiful diaper cakes will create long-lasting family memories that will go on forever. These lil’ baby cakes are made in the purest environment; smoke-free being the most important. They also can help you in designing a custom baby cake or you can request to have your baby cake made out of cloth diapers.
Some of our favorites were The Little Royal Princess Cake, Sweet Baby Butterfly, Baby Love White Diaper Cake, Fun Toys, Twin Diaper Cakes and pretty much all of them because they all are gorgeous! Check them out and let us know which one is your favorite!
Remeber to Learn, Laugh and Lounge! And we hope that this post didn’t give any of you the baby itch. I think they are adorable, but no baby itch over here. Reneca says no too!
Kalisha and Reneca
Recipes for a Sweet Tooth September 15, 2008
Posted by mommylounge in Uncategorized.1 comment so far
Homemade fruit suckers! Better than buying commercial iced suckers which contain many additives, colorings and sugar. Experiment with different combinations of juice such as nectarine, strawberry and orange juice. Sweeten to taste, if you wish, with sugar or honey and stir in flavored or plain yogurt to make a frozen yogurt sucker. Around the Beck household my girls are always asking for Otter Pops which we call freezie lollipops so this is a great healthy alternative to those icy pops.
Peach and Passion Fruit Suckers; Makes 6 suckers
- 2 large oranges, squeezed
- strained juice of 3 passion fruit
- 2 juicy ripe peaches, skinned, pitted and chopped
Combine all the ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Pour into the sucker molds and freeze. To make popsicles out of them pour the mixture into an ice cube tray and insert popsicle sticks or toothpicks into each ice cube once the juice has set in the freezer for a while.
Cranberry, Lemonade, and Orange Suckers; makes 6 small suckers
- 1 c. cranberry juice
- 1/2 c. fresh orange juice
- 1/2 c. lemonade
Combine all ingredients together and pour into molds.
You can try any fruit, juice and yogurt combination until you find your perfect sucker flavor!
Mommy Lounge Blog Awards! September 10, 2008
Posted by mommylounge in Uncategorized.Tags: blog awards, mom blog, motherhood
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Reneca and I have TWO Blog Awards to bestow upon 12 unsuspecting amazing mommy bloggers! More exciting than the MTV Movie Awards without the annoying British accent!
Our first award, The Brillante Weblog Premio-2008, from Parenting Pink goes to:
CONGRATULATIONS!!! We are so thrilled to be able to pass this award on to some deserving mommy bloggers. Thanks for being Brillante! 
Just yesterday we were awarded with another award, The “I Love Your Blog” award! We are really excited that Robin and Oliviagave us this award because we secretely wanted it and now we have it! Yipee! We are very honored that someone loves us! I don’t know who starts these blog awards but I’m glad they’re around because it is always good to support each other and let our fellow mommy bloggers know how much we appreciate them.
Now for award #2…drumroll please…the “I Love Your Blog” award goes to:
- Grocery Mama
- Extraordinary Mommy
- Such the Spot
- The Happy Housewife
- Tippytoes
- Monkey Bread Tree
- PhD in Parenting
We Love Your Blog! 
Now to pass the bloggy award love on. If you received the Brillante Blog Award here is what you do; link back to Mommy Lounge and link to 5 or 6 of your favorite blogs who you think deserve this award and leave them a comment letting them know they have been selected.
If you recieved the I Love Your Blog Award; link back to us and link to 7 of your favorite blogs. Leave them a comment and now the bloggy love has been passed!
Thanks again and congratulations to everyone!
Kalisha and Reneca
All Children Are One… September 9, 2008
Posted by mommylounge in Uncategorized.3 comments
This past Friday I purged a lot of stuff that was crammed in our back patio. We had someone come and check the gas and it was so junky that I was embarrassed to let him back there. I kept asking if he was ok! Well, I decided after hearing Brett say “we need to organize that patio” a million times which really means I need to do it. Which is fine. I’ve come to terms that when he says “we” referring to a chore he means me and that something has gotten to the point of no return and it really needs to be done. So, to start I put all the girls to bed and headed into the hole.
I went through all the boxes making piles of keep, trash and sell just like they do on Clean House. I set aside a bunch of my old toys, barbies, dolls and books for Journey and Faith to play with. I put all of my old college textbooks in the sell pile–I don’t know why I kept them? I read a blog and now I don’t remember who said it, but it was a good point stating that we must keep our old textbooks around to kind of prove we have an education. But in reality there have probably been about 5 edition updates since the last time I even cracked a book open. I threw a lot of stuff away, swept up piles of leaves and spiders! Eek! Big fat black ones and all those creepy crawly bugs that hide in the shadows! My goal was to make one side the storage and then the other side a kind of private patio getaway. I have a table and two chairs that I still need to spray paint and I want to get a few plants to put back there so that it looks better. I didn’t take any pictures, but I will once I set it all up nice. Well, in the midst of all this I found a book called One World, One Heart. I can’t even remember how I received this book, but it has a lot of amazing uplifting poems. One that I want to share with you now and I have a few more that I will share in time.
All Mothers Are Sisters, All Fathers Are Brothers, and All Children Are One
When you interact with children
you must always keep in mind
that everything you do and say
has an enormous impact on their lives
If you treat children
with love and respect
it will be easier for them
to love and respect themselves and others
If you treat children
with freedom and honesty
it will be easier for them
to develop confidence in their
abilities to make decisions
If you treat children
with intelligence and sensitivity
it will be easier for them
to understand the world
If you treat children
with happiness, kindness and gentleness
it will be easier for them
to develop into adults capable
of enjoying all the beautiful things in life
Take Care!
Kalisha
