I found the perfect gift – handmade reusable glass straws from Strawesome.

There are many reasons to use a glass straw, including that they’re free of nasty chemicals (BPA, for one) that many plastic straws have, they’re fun to use and may encourage your kiddos to drink healthy drinks, and you’re saving more waste from going into landfills, just to name a few.

Reusable glass straws make an awesome gift for anyone – your sweetheart, Mom, Dad, babysitter, teacher, kids and anyone you may need an economical, fun to use gift for.

Strawesome has short straws, long straws, skinny straws (these fit well into the Starbucks cup and other similar reusable cups), smoothie straws, straws specifically for kids, and more. Strawesome features colorful, fun decorative straws as well as economical plain straws.

My favorite straws are the extra long, skinny straws because they fit perfectly into the reusable cup filled with water that I take everywhere with me. I also love the decorative straws for gifts and to make enjoying any drink (even plain old water with lemon) more festive and fun.

You can also have straws custom made to the length, width, style or any other customization you would like, including engraving.

One of the incredible things I love about this small, family-run business based in Michigan is their replacement policy. If your straw is accidentally broken, Strawesome replaces it for free (you pay shipping). Strawesome has replaced two of my straws – one broke in the dishwasher and one fell off the kitchen counter. I can’t think of too many companies that will replace a product that is accidentally broken.

Strawesome is featuring a special Valentine’s Day set for $34.99 through February 14 that includes (all 8” long) a pink sapphire regular straw, an amethyst smoothie straw, a decorative regular straw and a decorative smoothie straw, as well as a free cleaning brush.

You can purchase Strawesome’s products online at www.strawesome.com and at select retailers.

After a 13+ years PR/communications career, Jamie K. recently took on her most challenging job yet – as a fulltime CFO (chief family officer). Currently, she lives in Alabama with her husband, an officer in the Air Force, and her toddler son and infant daughter. She’s a big fan of deal sites, attempts to be eco-friendly, and struggles daily with the great balancing act of being a super mom.

Make sure I have daily devotions, if I can’t do them in the mornings then at least sometime throughout the day

-It’s very important for me to have time with God and to make Him more of a priority this year.

Take time for me. As a mom who puts herself on the back burner {can you relate?}, I am promising myself to work less, get more sleep, drink more water, eat healthier, and, dare I say it, even pamper myself once and a while.

Be the best mom I can be. Having more silly moments with the girls, creating and maintaining a close circle of healthy, supportive, fun, good friends for them to play with, and also making sure they are healthy inside and out as well.

Which brings me to mention Trop50. Baby C has never took to the bottle, unfortunately when I was nursing hubby did not get to help feed her, and I made sure I was always somewhat close-by in case she needed to be fed. She never took formula and more importantly when I weaned her she did not want to have anything to do with cow’s milk. We tried everything, bottle, sippy cup, and even medicine dropper, she just wasn’t going for it. Because Calcium is such an important vitamin we consulted with our pediatrician and he suggested other ways for her to get the nutrients she needed. One way was to introduce Calcium enriched orange juice (among other ways).

{The Trop50 version below is not the Calcium, Vitamin-D version they also sell.}

That’s where Trop50 comes in. Tropicana is a well-known brand that produces a great line of juice beverages and have recently created Trop50, the juice beverage that offers 50% less sugar, and 50% less calories with no artificial sweeteners. Which, for a mom who is trying to make sure their child gets enough Calcium, but not overdo the sugar intake, is perfect. I am happy with this new line that I can easily purchase in my local grocery store and that helps me accomplish part of one of my resolutions for 2012.

What are your resolutions? Head over to Trop50′s Facebook page: http://on.fb.me/Trop50Resolutions to enter their True Resolutions contest and celebrate the real reasons behind New Year’s resolutions. Share your secret motivation and earn a coupon for $1 off Trop50 for yourself and $.50¢ off coupons for up to 50 of your friends! Whether you submit a resolution or not, you can also enter their sweepstakes to win a $1,000 gift card!

Happy New Year!!!

This post is sponsored by Trop50, I received compensation for this post, however all thoughts and opinions expressed above are my own. Your opinions may vary.

This fun spirited, {pun intended} company partners with Soles4Souls, a non-profit organization that “collects new shoes to give relief to the victims of abject suffering and collects used shoes to support micro-enterprise efforts to eradicate poverty”. They are helping to prevent the spread of parasitic diseases, especially in developing nations where having a pair of shoes is very rare.

I love that this great wine company is going above and beyond with this partnership and that their vision is very selfless. Beginning September 6th through November 15th, Soles4Souls and flipflop wines will begin their “Soles4Souls flippin’ good deeds Challenge”. In an effort to spread the word, this program challenges bloggers to lead
shoe drives and encourage their communities to donate gently worn footwear.

Bloggers have a chance to win a trip for two on an international shoe distribution trip with Soles4Souls, where they can deliver the shoes they have collected first-hand to those in need.

On a more flavorful note, flipflop wines, yes it’s lower case, has a great tasting Riesling, my favorite sweet wine, and hubby really enjoyed their Pinot Grigio, they also carry Chardonnay, Moscato, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Pinot Noir. Best yet their prices are super affordable, at about $7 a bottle you can afford to have a few on hand for any occasion.

I can’t find anything bad to say about flipflop wines from their actual product to their amazing practices. I strongly encourage you to purchase their product and check them out on their website: http://www.flipflopwines.com, and Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/flipflopwines

flipflop wines provided me with complimentary bottles of some of their wines in order to write this review. They did not require me to write a post, but I felt that their product and mission exemplified a company worthy of a review on my site.

Recently, I was offered the chance to try out h20, a natural spring water from Canada, and I found that I really loved the taste of. I kid you not, it’s up there will my all-time favorite {or favourite if you’re from CA} waters, very crisp and totally refreshing, plus, it does NOT come in a plastic bottle, hooray!!

I’m not completely eco-friendly, however I do like to recycle and try to do my part. h2o’s packaging is 100% paper, from “responsibly sourced well managed forests, a renewable resource, unlike plastic bottles made from oil”.  And in my opinion the packaging is pretty too, see:

Here are some really great facts that I love about h2o and some random ones I found out on my own too:

• h2o keeps contents safe up to 5 years compared to the 2 year shelf-life of plastic bottles
• h2o does not roll around in the car if you drop it on the ground like other water bottles {yes this did actually happen to me}
• h2o has “wings” {aka the flaps at the top that kids can hang on to so they don’t squeeze the drink} like our favorite paper milk and juice box containers
• h2o, even though the bottle is not see-through, has really great packaging so those of you who are bothered by not being able to “see” what you are drinking can look down the top and see for yourself, crystal clear.

This great water is available for purchase on their website http://www.h2Ospringwater.com in singles and packs, and in single 16.9 ounce bottles at Super K-marts. Pricing is average in my opinion and for the taste of the water I’d personally pay a little more than they are asking, but that may just be my superior taste buds talking

Also, h2O has also launched a special online sweepstakes. One winner is randomly chosen every 2 days to win a Rio DVD and a 6-pack of h2O natural spring water. Check out rules and enter at h2Ospringwater.com now through September 30, 2011 (at 11:59 p.m. PST).

Do you have a favorite spring water? If so, what brand is it?

I received samples from h2o and their partners in order to complete this review. The samples in no way effect my opinions on the product. The words above are my own, completely honest opinions. Thank you for taking the time to read the review and if you have any questions or comments I would love to hear them! 

Somehow Kid Basix has designed my miracle sippy cup. Let me introduce you to; the Safe Sippy 2. I did everything I could to try to make this sippy leak, I shook it, held it upside down, rolled it around, and it still maintained it’s no-spill feature. Unbelievable!

This sippy cup holds 11 ounces, which is the perfect amount of liquid, in my opinion. The Safe Sippy 2 features 3 different adaptors, which allows the sippy to almost grow with your child.

Adaptor #1- The Sippy Plug allows your little one to tip and sip their drink like any other sippy.

Adaptor #2-The Straw and Straw Adaptor transforms The Safe Sippy 2 into a “big kid” cup so when your child’s ready for the next step it’s super easy to convert to the straw option.

Adaptor #3- The Travel Plug. If you’re going far or travelling a long distance this is an accessory you MUST have to keep the liquid right where it’s supposed to be, inside the cup and not all over everything else.

Another great bonus to The Safe Sippy 2 is that the plastic handles are removable so your child can have the option to keep them on or take them off, plus it’s great for minimizing dishwasher space.

Not only are the Kid Basix products made to stand out with their sporty, colorful designs, but they are also BPA-Free and made from stainless steel. They produce baby bottles, sippy cups, and sports bottles so when you fall in love, {and you will} every member of every age in your family can sport Kid Basix.

To purchase your Kid Basix drink holders and find out more information on their complete line visit their website: http://www.kid-basix.com and check out their Facebook page too: http://www.facebook.com/kidbasix

Have you ever used Kid Basix? What sippy cups have you found that surprise you {in a good or bad way} and how did they surprise you?

I received products from Kid Basix in order to complete this review. This in no way impacts my opinion of their products and the opinions expressed above. The review is based on my opinion and experiences with Kid Basix products, yours may vary.

Thanks to POMx Iced Coffee for allowing me to try these delicious coffees and no thanks to POMx Iced Coffee for getting me hooked on the Chocolate flavor, mmmm, too good to put down!

The 4 winners of this giveaway of POMx Iced Coffee Prize packages, chosen by Random.org (sorry to those of you who didn’t win) are: Sarah T. Amanda S. Aleksandra N. and Troy K. Congrats you four!

Check back for another great giveaway this week from Guidecraft!!

Calling themselves the “Healthy Buzz,” I had to try it out, plus I’m insane for iced coffee although I try not to drink too much caffeine with nursing Baby C. Their marketing is also a bunch of hilarious sheeps that say, “For maximum Wakey-wakedness,” and, “It doesn’t taste like pomegranate.” The funny thing is that I actually thought it may taste like pomegranate and prepared myself. Even though I love POM Wonderful juice I just don’t know how it’d go over in an iced coffee.

Instead of actual pomegranate juice POMx Iced Coffee gives you POMx, which is a “super-pure, super-concentrated, 100% natural blend of polyphenol antioxidants loaded with all the [same] health benefits of POM Wonderful pomegranates. So no pomegranate juice, to make me rethink my love for iced coffee, hooray!

Deliciousness

Speaking of taste here’s my “buzz,” (since I am MommyB(ee) it’s only fitting), in a very particular order here are my favorites staring with least favorite to all-time favorite although seriously they were all pretty decent.

Drum roll please…… coming in as the second runner up is:

Cafe Au Lait (coffee and milk in lay-terms), you could taste that it was healthy, if that makes any sense, but it was also very creamy, and had a nice coffee taste, it failed for me only because it wasn’t sweet enough for me and my mammoth sweet tooth.

First runner up: Vanilla! It was sweeter than the Cafe Au Lait, and pretty delicious, but once I tasted my favorite, Vanilla just had to take second place.

And of course, no surprise to anyone from this chocoholic….my favorite POMx Iced Coffee Drink Flavor starts with a C and ends with an hocolate, it’s Chocolate!! I gave it three “yums” up. Seriously though, if you have a sweet tooth this drink should be in your flavor profile. Plus if you drink it out of a cool Cowboys mug (even though they’re record, is well, a little less than desirable,) it tastes even better.

Responsible

Not only is the taste of POMx amazing, but POMx Iced Coffees are going above and beyond and focusing on social responsibilities too.  The coffee beans used in POMx Iced Coffee are a part of the Rainforest Alliance Certified farms. The cool thing about Rainforest Alliance Certified farms is that it protects workers, natural resources, wildlife, and the environment. They also use pesticide-free, organic sugar cane and hormone free milk. I think that makes POMx Iced Coffee a million times cooler.

Buzzed

Now you may be questioning the “buzz” part of POMx Iced Coffee’s Healthy Buzz, and well here’s a run down of some popular caffeinated drinks, so you can compare their caffeine content:

• POMx Iced Coffee has about 18 mg of caffeine per ounce
• Red Bull Original has 9.5 mg of caffeine per ounce
• Espresso Coffee has around 53 mg of caffeine per ounce
• Monster Original has 10 mg of caffeine per ounce
• Starbucks Short Coffee has a surprising 22.5 mg of caffeine per ounce
• Coca-Cola Classic has 2.9 mg of caffeine per ounce

So you get an idea of where POMx Iced Coffee is in the rankings, here’s a great website I found for more caffeine content in a long list of drinks: http://www.energyfiend.com/the-caffeine-database

Craft Time

I heart doing fun fall crafts with Little Miss A and you may be wondering where this fits in with POMx Iced Coffee, but actually if you take the fun packaging off the mini-tumblers that the POMx Iced Coffees come in you can make lots of fun things with it since it has a great rounded shape. I plan on using two of ours to make turkey crafts for Thanksgiving. Check back in November for my pictures and possible instructions

POM Wonderful has a ton of other products, check them out here: http://www.pomwonderful.com/products/

The great people at POMx Iced Coffee are giving FOUR lucky MommyB Knows Best readers a chance to win their very own POMx Iced Coffee goodie baskets including all three flavors of POMx Iced Coffee.

Here’s how to win: Using the ENTRY FORM directly below this post (NOT the comment form), submit your name, an email address that you check regularly, and the entry/entries you are submitting all at the same time. There is no need to fill out separate entry forms for each item you complete. *Please note the Mandatory Entry MUST be typed into the form before you can qualify for additional entries.

Giveaway ends November 3rd @12:00 am. The winners will be chosen at random, verified, emailed, and announced in a Winner’s post. The winners will have 48 hours to respond to the email from MommyB to claim the prize, if the prize is not claimed within 48 hours a new winner will be chosen at random. You must be a US resident and 18 years or older to enter.

I heard about this great line of “super-fruit” juices that tout calorie-conscious, low sugars, and healthy ingredients in a unique beverage. Now that I’m leaning towards clean eating  Bossa Nova fruit drinks sound like they would be a great addition to my drink selection.

In fact, after receiving samples of several flavors, Daddy B, and Little Miss A and I found out that these drinks are appropriate and healthy for the entire family to enjoy.We were able to try out 6 of the 10 flavors including; Açaí the original, Açaí with blueberry, Goji Berry with tart cherry, Acerola with mango, Açaí with mango, and Mangosteen with passionfruit.

My absolute favorite was the Mangosteen Juice with passionfruit. I am a huge fan of peaches and mangosteen is said to have similar flavor notes to that of peaches. The juice, in my opinion, was very flavorful but not too strong and didn’t taste healthy or organic, (you know what I’m talking about.) The description on Bossa Nova’s website says that mangosteen is often described as the world’s best tasting fruit and even Miss A totally agrees!

Daddy B also liked the taste of Acerola with mango and he was excited about getting in 20 times the amount vitamin c than in oranges at the same time and although we really liked a couple of these there were two that were just okay on our flavor scales. Daddy B thought that the Açaíthe original tasted a lot like medicine, but this was his very first Açaí experience anyway, I’ve heard Açaí alone can be an acquired taste. Miss A thought the Goji Berry with tart cherry was a little too tart for her refined palate, ha ha and it got a C+ from me, compared to the others we got to taste.

Overall, I was really impressed with the taste of the Bossa Nova fruit juices, but I was also blown out of the water when I found out the varying drinks contain ingreditents to help maintain a healthy cardiovascular system, boost your immunity, have anti-aging and body balancing properties and so much more!

I give Bossa Nova two thumbs up for making a great product at a reasonable price compared to juices in it’s category. We are definitely adding these to our fridge for not only the sweltering summer, but for all-year-round. If you’re looking to purchase Bossa Nova drinks, find a store near you by going to their website http://www.bossausa.com/flash/ and checking out their “where to buy” tab, ps they sell the Açaí Original, Açaí Blueberry, and Acerola Mango in 32 ounce bottles as well as the standard 10 ounces.

You can also enter to win because Bossa Nova is giving one lucky MommyB Knows Best Reader a chance to win one of each flavor, that’s 10 different bottles of Bossa Nova drinks people!

Here’s how to win: Using the entry form directly below this post (NOT the comment form), submit your name, an email address that you check regularly, and the entry you are submitting. *Please note the Mandatory Entry MUST be completed before you can qualify for additional entries.

cforms contact form by delicious:days

Giveaway ends August 25th @12:00 am. The winner will be chosen at random, verified, emailed, and announced in a Winner’s post. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the email from MommyB to claim the prize, if the prize is not claimed within 48 hours a new winner will be chosen at random. You must be a US resident and 18 years or older to enter.

As I (and secretly Daddy B) was watching this past week’s episode I noticed the baby nurse giving Bethenny a Blue Moon, no this is not an advertisement but I do really enjoy a good Blue Moon, I did a double take and quickly said to Daddy B, who was blogging on his own blog at the time, “You HAVE to look that up, right now!” I was intrigued! I know many people have found it to be controversial and here are my thoughts on the matter considering that it is World Breastfeeding Week today through the 7th! So, Daddy B looked it up and initially we found this article on BabyCenter.com that basically says beer contains some ingredients that may increase a mom’s milk supply, but the alcohol can inhibit milk prodution. So, if you are going to drink in conjunction with nursing do it in very small doses and only on occasion. So in regards to the Bethenny Beer Scandal of 2010 there’s no reason to get huffy over a nursing mother choosing to have a small drink.

Though there are ways to do so safely like drinking the beverage while you are nursing so the alcohol levels are sure to drop (so long as you only have a small dose,) by the time you are ready for the next feeding, and if you really want to be safe you can check out Milkscreen, a product designed to test the alcohol content of breastmilk. Some mothers prefer to pump and dump, thinking this will rid their milk of alcohol. This in fact is a little known fact that alcohol reacts the same way in breastmilk that it does in the bloodstream and no amount of pumping and dumping, coffee, drinking water will eliminate the alcohol from your system but time.  So, if the reason for your drinking is to increase your supply then pumping and dumping milk that will be free of alcohol in just a hour or two is pointless.

If you really want to increase your supply there are a ton of alternatives than a glass of beer. A few ways are pretty easy lifestyle changes, make sure you’re getting enough sleep, stay hydrated, eat well, or pump to increase the demand and hopefully in turn increasing the supply. Then, there are things you can ingest like non-alcoholic beers (even though they taste gross) contain the same milk producing ingredients as alcoholic beer. Also in the category are oatmeal, Fenugreek, and prescription medications.

So when it comes to breastfeeding and any alcohol know your limitations and have a back-up plan in case of an alcohol overload.

Have you or someone you know drank alcohol while breastfeeding?

With summer upon us, we’re all looking for a refreshingly cool drink. Chilly Twist is the company to give it to us. Chilly Twist is a 16-ounce plastic cup with a freezer-safe coolant bottom. It’s like having an icepack in your drink, but a little more sanitary.
For those of you who are concerned with being eco-friendly, Chilly Twist is BPA and lead free and good for the environment as long as you wash and reuse the cups for several occasions.
The cups come in a variety of cup and base colors and combinations. One fun thing about this product is that you can mix and match when purchasing. Once you get them home you can make all sorts of combinations — fun for the kids and easy to remember which cup belongs to which drinker.
Chilly Twist is better than ice because it doesn’t water down your drink, and better than those freezable mugs because they often take up too much space in your freezer. The Chilly Twist base screws apart from the cup for ease in cleaning, storing, and freezing.
I did find that Chilly Twist worked better at keeping drinks cool rather than cooling room temperature drinks. This makes sense, but when reading their site one could mistake their “drinks stay colder longer (24 degrees is possible)” claim for saying that it would cool drinks that weren’t already cold to that temperature.

Here are a few tips on making your Chilly Twist work better for you: Place the base in the back of your freezer for optimum freezing. Freeze your base for 12 to 24 hours; the longer you freeze it, the better the job it does. Do not place your Chilly Twist base in the dishwasher; hand wash only.
Overall the Chilly Twist is a good alternative to ice, but I would say it works about the same. So, if you hate watered down drinks or buying/making ice for beverages, this is a great, reusable alternative.

Article first published as Product Review: Chilly Twist Cup on Blogcritics.

Chilly Twist is great for tail gaiting and the beach this summer, what’s your favorite summertime beverage?