Try It Tuesday: Piggy Paint

Over the past year or so, I have seen several blogs hosting giveaways for Piggy Paint. As the mother of three young girly-girls, I was intrigued from the first time I saw this wonderful company. I never did win any of the Piggy Paint giveaways, so when I was contacted a few months ago about doing a review for the company, I was thrilled.

We received a bottle of Girls Rule Piggy Paint and a bottle of Piggy Paint Nail Polish Remover. I had always hesitated to apply nail polish to my girls because they tended to pick at their nails when I did polish them and I was concerned about them, or their baby brother, eating the flakes. The nail polishes I found that were designed for children still were laden with chemicals. The biggest difference was that the polish dried "soft" and peeled off instead of flaking off. Wonderful, now I have to worry about the baby choking on the polish AND ingesting all those yummy chemicals. Piggy Paint came to my rescue with their non-toxic, water-based polishes. The Polish Remover is also non-toxic and made from natural ingredients. Neither the polish nor the polish remover have that awful smell that similar products have either and they are both hypoallergenic.

When we received our package, my 2-year old immediately asked to have her nails painted and I happily obliged. The polish dried quicker than any other polish I have ever used and it dried "hard", not soft and tacky. The purplish-pink color was so pretty that I decided to use it on my toes as well. The polish lasted as long as any other polish I have ever used. It tended to wear off rather than flake or chip off. The polish remover worked wonderfully on the Piggy Paint. Although it does say it works on any polish, it took quite a bit of scrubbing to get the Opi polish off my finger nails that had been applied during a professional manicure the week before. However, for the benefit of not having to smell the remover or worry about the toxicity of it, it was worth the effort.

Piggy Paint nail polish sells for $9.99 a bottle and comes in a variety of classic and fun colors, including pinks, purples, oranges, greens, blues, and black. The names are fun too (Mac-N-Cheese Please and Twinkle Toes are 2 examples). The Piggy Paint Polish Remover is $10.50 for a 4oz bottle. There are tons of gift sets available such as Ghouls Wanna Have Fun, Little Miss Firecracker and Mistle Toes, which includes 3 bottles of polish for $26.50 and a few other gift packs which include 2 bottles of polish and a bottle of remover for $27.50. For the month of September, you can order the Girls Rule! gift pack (a bottle each of Girls Rule! and Forever Fancy nail polishes and a bottle of polish remover) for $23.50. Also, through October 31st, I have a coupon for The Happy Wife readers to use. If you enter the coupon code, HAPPYWIFE15L, you will save 15% on anything you purchase, including sale items. That makes the Girls Rule! gift pack an even better deal. At just about $20, it is like getting the polish remover for free! Also, all orders over $25 come with free shipping.

Would I recommend buying these products? Absolutely! I have many years left before my girls will be of an age where I would be comfortable with them using "regular" nail polish and I do not want to withhold the fun of mani/pedis from them until then. I am so grateful for Piggy Paint and will continue to use them not just for my little ones, but for myself as well.

***Disclaimer***
I did receive free product in exchange for this review. I did not receive any other payment. While the product was free, my opinion is my own.

Wellness Wednesday: Stop and Smell the Flowers

I recently read an editorial in our local newspaper where a woman was thanking a stranger for giving her flowers. She had seen him (a stranger to her) holding a bouquet of sunflowers and commented on their beauty and teasingly asked if they were for her. As she was cashing out, the gentleman approached her and handed her the bouquet and wished her a good day. This story also reminded me of an episode of The Big Give when one of the contestants used some of the money she had to buy all the flowers a street vendor had and then she proceeded to just hand them out to random people. Both stories left me with a happy feeling, yet when it comes to others buying me flowers, I have mixed feelings. I hate that they die so quickly, but they are so uplifting to look at. So what is it about flowers, that make us feel so good.

The State University of New Jersey recently published a study (led by Jeannette Haviland-Jones, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology at Rutgers) that found connections between flowers and our satisfaction with life. Flowers help trigger happy thoughts and emotions, they increase of feelings of satisfaction and affect our social behavior in positive ways. I imagine that many of those people who received flowers from a stranger went on to do something nice for someone else later that day or the next. It becomes a pay-it-forward type thing. Here are some of the points learned by the study:

-Flowers provide immediate happiness. People receiving the flowers had "true" smiles on their faces and felt genuinely happy and grateful.

-Flowers help extend feelings of satisfaction and happiness. The recipients of flowers felt less agitated and lonely.

-Flowers allow us to make intimate connections. When someone has given us or sent us flowers, it tells us they were thinking about us.

-Flowers are a healthy and natural way to help us manage our day-to-day moods.

I know I have always enjoyed the flowers I have received, even when I know money was spent to buy them. When we recently bought our home, I was thrilled to have a garden. As I think back to the first few weeks in the house, I always felt best after taking a walk through the garden. The next time you are feeling down, or just because you want to, I encourage you to take a walk through a garden or even the floral department of your local store. Take in the scents and visual beauty and let them linger in your mind. Send flowers to someone you love and let them know you are thinking of them or just give some to a stranger. Cut some from your garden and leave them on a neighbor's doorstep. Just remember to take the time to enjoy the flowers around you. It has now been proven to be good for you.

Stop & Shop Back to School Event and Giveaway

I am very excited to share with you the Stop & Shop Back To School Event. It began on September 4th and runs through this Thursday, September 10th. You will find great sale prices on participating General Mills brands, including: Cheerios, Lucky Charms, Reeses Puffs, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Cookie Crisp Sprinkles, Cookie Crisp, Fruit Snacks, Old El Paso Dinner Kits, Pillsbury Strudel, Pillsbury Scrambles, Green Giant Boxed Vegetables, Yoplait Yo-Plus Multi-Pack, Fiber One Yogurt Multi-Pack, Pillsbury Refrigerated Cookies, Pillsbury Crescent Rolls, Pillsbury Sweet Rolls and Yoplait Delights. In addition, depending on which Stop & Shop you visit, there are even more savings for you or your school. If your location also sells gas: you will receive 100 points on your Stop & Shop card when you buy 4 participating General Mills products. These points can then be redeemed at the gas pump. For every 100 points you earn, you will save 10¢ per gallon of gas (Please note: Total discount cannot exceed price per gallon). Just swipe your Stop & Shop card at the pump and it will take care of the rest. If your location does not sell gas: For every 5 participating General Mills products you purchase, you will receive 20 Bonus Box Tops for your school.

To top it all off, Stop & Shop and MyBlogSpark are giving one of you a free $10 gift card. I wish I had gotten this posted in time for you to use during the Back To School event, but I am sure it will come in handy in the near future anyway. To enter, leave a comment and tell me what you love about shopping at Stop & Shop. I will randomly draw name tomorrow, September 9th at midnight, using random.org. The winner will be contacted by e-mail and have 48 hours to get back to me or a new winner will be chosen. Good luck.

(Don't) Try It Tuesday: Chemistry Shampoo

I hate wasting my money on products that do not work and I hate to throw things away, but this product is absolutely awful. I am fortunate to have gotten this bottle of Chemistry Cleanse Daily Shampoo for free a while back, I think through a Rite-Aid rebate. Since it was free, I am not so upset that I am throwing the remainder of it out! Let me tell you more about it.

Chemistry salon labs creates hair care products that are supposed to work to improve your hairs look, composition and fiber. It does this by infusing each strand of hair with their Pro-KeraGen Complex which infuses the hair and protects it. The products also contain vitamins and extract blends that include UV filters to further protect the hair. Chemistry hair care products are all sulfate- and paraben-free as well so it is not as harsh on the hair either. (all from the Chemistry salon labs website). The bottle also states that the Beautology Brands Company does not test on animals.

The bottle is real cute too. It looks like a chemistry beaker with a pump on the top. I do have a complaint there too, in that it was a bit difficult to figure out how to initially open the pump, especially when in the shower, but that alone is not enough to elicit such strong feelings from me about the product. The scent of the product is nice and clean, not too fruity or floral. The shampoo itself is a bit on the thick side, but does lather. I even thought it cleaned my hair and it seemed to rinse out ok too. Then, as my hair started to dry, I noticed it felt funky. You know the way it feels when you didn't quite get all the shampoo out? It felt greasy and was clumping together in small bunches at the roots. The first day, I let it go figuring I must not have rinsed well enough. The next day, I made extra sure to rinse ALL of the shampoo out, but the same thing happened. I even got back in the shower 2 hours later to rinse again, but that feeling was still there. The more I used the shampoo, the worse it got each day. It was like it was building up in my hair. After 3 days of accumulating this garbage in my hair, I decided to just use another brand of shampoo. Lo and behold, all the gunk was gone and my hair felt clean again.

So, let's recap. I like the concept of this shampoo. I like the bottle, for the most part and it smells great, but would I recommend it? Only if you like to walk around feeling like, and looking like you have not washed your hair. Personally, when I take a shower, I want to look and feel clean. Not only do I not recommend buying it, I am throwing mine away. If I ever see it offered for free or even as a money-maker, I will leave it right there on the shelf. This is not even a product that I would give away to someone else, unless I really disliked them;0)

Fiber One Winners

I have my winners from the Fiber One Meal Set giveaway. All have responded to the e-mail and should be receiving their prizes soon. Congratulations to: Jessica, Tzel, and Emily W! Enjoy!

Wellness Wednesday: Keeping our brain healthy

Our brain. We use it every day, some of us more than others, but none-the-less. So how do we care for it? Just like the rest of our body, our brain needs the proper nutrition and exercise, but exactly how do we provide that? Read on.

A good diet for brain health is one that contains a good amount of omega-3 fatty acids (found in fish, especially fatty ones like salmon; also found in some eggs and is being added to "everyday" foods now too); whole grains; antioxidants; lots of fruits and veggies; and is low in trans-fat. Sounds a lot like the diet our body needs too, huh?

Exercising the brain is a little more interesting. In order for the brain to maintain its cognitive ability, it needs to constantly be processing stimuli. Stimuli can be provided by taking classes, learning new languages, and working on puzzles, both jigsaw puzzles and word/number puzzles. Experiencing new places and using our senses to experience new things also help keep our brain fit. If only it was so easy (and fun) to keep our bodies fit.

Speaking of keeping our body fit, that is also important for brain health. Getting your heart pumping increases blood flow, and therefore oxygen as well, to our brain. Avoiding unhealthy habits, getting plenty of rest (ever notice how hard it is to concentrate when your tired), and keeping our head (wear helmets when appropriate) and body safe all help keep our brain safe as well. Having a healthy body also decreases your risk of stroke, diabetes and heart disease, all of which increase your risk of dementia.

Dementia is usually an irreversible condition and one most of us would like to avoid. Let's do what we can to protect our brains now, so that we may enjoy all the days of lives.


PS- Don't forget to enter my Fiber One yogurt giveaway (it ends today!) and my YoBaby giveaway.

Another Yogurt Giveaway!

Last week, I extolled the virtues of yogurt and had a Fiber One yogurt giveaway (you can still enter until tomorrow, 9/3 at midnight). Today, I want to review the Stonyfield Farms YoBaby yogurt that I received from them a few weeks ago and I have yet another giveaway at the end.

YoBaby yogurt is made with organic, whole milk to ensure you are giving your baby the best product you can. For babies, whole milk is perfect for a yogurt because their developing brains need the extra fat that whole milk provides. However, we all know that babies shouldn't have cow's milk until after the age of 1 year. As I said last week, yogurt is different because it contains enzymes that produce lactase which helps digest the lactose, which is what causes the digestive problems in the first place. Yogurt is actually a wonderful first food for babies 6 months of age and YoBaby is the only yogurt especially designed for babies. It is even recommended by well-known baby expert, Dr. Sears.

So now you know why YoBaby is so great, but how does it taste. It is available in several flavors, some even include cereal and some are in drinkable form. For the review, we chose the regular yogurt in banana and vanilla flavors. My little two, ages 1 and 2 years old, absolutely LOVED this yogurt and ate it right up. I decided to sneak a little taste of the banana and it was sooooo yummy. It tasted just like pudding. I wish *I* needed extra fat in my diet, I would eat this every day. I can take comfort that my babies are eating something that I know tastes good and is good for them. I also like that they recently changed the tops of their yogurt packages to be more environmentally friendly. The only thing I would like to see changed is for them to also produce a multi-serve container for households like mine where a 6-pack might make it until noon.



YoBaby is being so generous as to provide one of my readers with the prize package pictured above. It includes a bib, a covered bowl, and 5 coupons redeemable for a free YoBaby product. Here is how you can win:

Mandatory Entry:
- 1 entry for visiting YoBaby and leaving a comment telling me what flavor/variety you would like to try.

Optional Entries:

- 1 entry if you become a public follower of this blog. If you are already a follower, you get 2 extra entries. Just leave 2 comments letting me know.

- 1 entry if you subcribe to this blog. If you are already a subscriber, you get 2 extra entries. Just leave 2 comments letting me know.

- 5 entries if you blog about this giveaway and post the link here. If you are not a blogger, feel free to post this on your Facebook page (if I am not already your friend, you will also have to ask me to be, so I can see it posted. I am on there as Danielle Parent Garcia)

The contest will remain open until Wednesday, September 8th at 11:59PM. I will use random.org to draw the winning comment. Winner will be contacted via e-mail and will have 48 hours to respond. If they do not respond, a new winner will be chosen. Good luck!!