This documentary examines big companies (Nestle, Pepsi and Coca~Cola) and how they get that wonderful, “healthy” water they sell. Did you know they move into communities and drain them of their water supply just to turn around and sell it right back to them? The film also touches on the plastic bottles themselves and the BPA and other things used to make them.

Now, I’m not totally against bottled water. It does have it’s place in the world. We mostly use our Klean Kanteens and Siggs, but there are often times we don’t pack quite enough to last through the day and I’ve had to pop into a store to pick up more water. But, bottled water isn’t something you should be buying regularly and carting with you on each and every outting. Just invest in a good reusable bottle and you’re good to go in most situations.

You can watch Tapped streaming on Netflix or purchase the DVD from various places. At the very least, check out this trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72MCumz5lq4

You’ve got kids, the internet has Facebook. It’s inevitable. More and more and more teens and tweens are signing up for a Facebook profile. I have touched on keeping teens safe online in the past. But now, my 15 year old does have a Facebook account. As mentioned before, I have her password. But, I’ve added a new weapon to my online tracking- MinorMonitor.com

MinorMonitor is a FREE online service for parents to track your child’s actions on Facebook. I love it. There’s a few things I wish it did more of, but for what it does do, I’m happy. If you have multiple children, you will need multiple accounts, one account may only be linked to one facebook profile. No big deal. Registration and set up are very easy. Once you register on their site, you will need access to your child’s facebook profile, but you do have their password, right?! You’ll need to authorize the app, once authorized you’re good to go and your child probably won’t even know. They’d have to go digging through their profile to find the list of apps they’ve given permission to in order to find it.

MinorMonitor tracks comments, statuses, photos and videos. You can change settings to be alerted when keywords are posted. In some cases you might not be able to click through to read conversations unless you sign in to your child’s facebook profile or “friend” their friends. It’s all in the Facebook settings of the other person (you know, that allow friends of friends thing…). One thing you don’t see is private messages. Those only show up when there’s some on the alert list. Not too big of a deal to me, I do want to give my daughter some type of privacy.

I just can not recommend this program enough. It has more potential, but what it offers (and free at that!) is wonderful and fills the need. And let me tell you, this thing does not skimp on alerts! The phrase “I’m going to get off the computer” was red flagged for get off, and “tempted to say” was flagged as mild profanity.

Note: I logged in today to grab this screen shot (where I’ve blurred out personal information) and I see a link to add a child. I get a pop up telling to upgrade in order to add multiple children. I knew they mentioned adding this feature in the future, so definitely something to keep an eye on.

UPDATE: I was just informed by MinorMonitor by the ability to monitor multiple children was just rolled out this week (I knew I hadn’t seen that before) and it does not cost extra. I have given them a screen shot of the pop up I received and I’m sure they’ll get it fixed right away. I’m sure it won’t be too long before my second child asks for a Facebook account. For now, he’s content having me follow his favorite soccer team and enter contests

Check out MinorMonitor and let me know what you think!

Squidbalm: bar soap, oil cleanser, shampoo bar, lotion tin, conditioner bar

Wow. Just wow.

I have been trying to sit down and write a review for some Squidbalm products for over a week now. I’ve been so excited and I’ve wanted to share these great products, but as usual, life gets in the way. Squidbalm was created by a mom in need. That’s how most great products originate, when you can’t find it, you make it! Her daughter needed a moisturizer that would relieve her eczema, while remaining free of chemicals and allergens. Having no luck, mom created a lotion bar and shortly after, her other products followed.

The ladies over at Squidbalm contacted me a few weeks ago to see if I was interested in trying their lotion bar. As I know I’ve said before, I’m having a difficult time finding items, lotion in particular, that is gluten and lavender free and does not contain all those other yucky additives. And yeah, meets my budget. So, I said sure, why not. I can try it and give a review. I’m pretty picky about lotion, the consistency has to be perfect, not too thin and not too thick, it has to moisturize and last a while and not dry my hands out. I wasn’t sure how a lotion bar would work out for me, but I figured I had nothing to lose.

And then the package arrived. Just opening it made me smile. The scent was WONDERFUL, but I’ll get to that in a minute. I couldn’t wait to try this stuff. My package contained a lotion bar, cleanser, shampoo bar, conditioner bar and a bar of soap. All beautifully wrapped in tissue paper. All I was expecting was a lotion bar! I pretty much dislike bar soap and how it leaves my skin feeling too dry, and the only shampoo bar I ever tried, I hated. But, I was determined to at least try these items.

I have never encountered lotion in bar form. Interesting. Smells great and I love it. I does feel a little thick at first, but quickly soaks in and leaves my hands feeling great. Love this stuff! It’s in a cute little tin that I can easily pop into my purse and take with me on the go. Now that it’s gotten so hot out, I’m a little afraid to take it out, I’m not sure how it’ll handle the heat, but I will definitely buy more. The cute little tin sits nicely on my desk.

The shampoo and conditioner bars, I have mixed feelings on. Pro- they did not dry out my hair and make it feel like straw like the previous stuff I used. Con- I felt the need to wash my hair just about each day. I typically wash my hair every other day or two, I just don’t have time (or desire) to do it daily. But, I did love how my soft and smooth my hair looked, even after the first use. So, I have mixed feelings. I will keep using it, but I’m not sure I’ll give up my regular shampoo. What I have is the original formula, maybe I need to try the light formula. Oh, and let me add that this stuff lathers nicely, so different than the other stuff I tried. I know bubbly lather isn’t important, but it does help me to know that I’ve worked it all through my hair.

The soap bar is GREAT. It didn’t leave my skin feeling dry, it smells great. I would rank this as one of the top bar soaps I’ve ever tried. This may end up being my replacement for my Burt’s Bees bodywash, I think they’ve changed their forumla. As for the cleanser, I’ve not tried it yet. I didn’t want to test it in the midst of a breakout since I wouldn’t be able to judge my reaction to it. I will be doing that soon. Judging by the other items, I’m sure I’ll love it!

Back to the scents. Oh wow. Before I tested anything I told my husband I’d be buying more bars in the Coconut Peach scent just to set around my house. It smells so good, I spent a great deal of time shoving the shampoo bar under the nose of anyone that entered the room to share the wonderful scent. It’s that good! My soap bar is Honey Zen Avocado and it smells great too, but I can not get enough of that Coconut Peach!

Pop on over to Squidbalm and buy this stuff. Get the Coconut Peach scent, you won’t regret it.

Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer. Radon is a radio-active gas that you can not see, smell or taste. Radon comes from the natural breakdown of uranium. It is a single atom gas that can penetrate through most materials.

Some radon in your environment is normal and acceptable, but too much is not good at all. Screening levels over 4pCi/L require action.  According to Radon.com, “An elementary school student that spends 8 hours per day and 180 days per year in a classroom with 4 pCi/l of radon will receive nearly 10 times as much radiation as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission allows at the edge of a nuclear power plant.(25 mrem limit, 200 mrem exposure).”

Testing for radon is very easy. You can pick up a simple test at your local home improvement store for about $10. The test will need to sit, undisturbed for 48 hours. The test is then mailed to the testing facility and you await your results. I chose to pay a little extra and send mine via Priority Mail. I sent the test on Wednesday and had the results in my email inbox on Friday! That was quick. The average outdoor concentration is 0.4pCi/L, indoor is 1.3pCi/L, our home tested at 1.8pCi/L.

After viewing a radon map, I see that the neighboring county does have higher levels of radon than our county. I would guess due to the nuclear plant. At any rate, I’m happy to know that I don’t have to worry about radon for now. It is something I might consider testing for again in the future, if we remain here for an extended time.

Pretty Posts provides layouts for Craigslists, Ebay and other classified ads networks. Basically anywhere you can input html, you can use their layout. You upload your images, type up your description or input other information and they format the posting. Their free package gives you 3 templates, 50MB of space for images and the ability to save 3 posts. The Premium package is $5/month and gives you access to all layouts, 500MB of image space and unlimited post saving ability.

I went with the free package to test things out. The layout is nice and attractive, but will it work?

I had a few inquiries right away. Even a serious buyer. That buyer, however, backed out on me at the last minute. Apparently he couldn’t meet me due to car issues. A week and a half in to my test and I still have the stroller. If this thing sells, I’ll be sure to update, but it isn’t looking promising. The first week did bring me a few more emails, but no sale. Maybe I’ll switch to one of the other free themes next week.

I entered the store in Bowie, Maryland, not expecting much. I had only ever visited one other MOM’s store and the g-free selection was there, but I remember it being small. This was before I started my g-free diet. This new store was larger and very well stocked. I was so excited to see the ice cream cones I had been wanting and couldn’t find on my last Whole Foods trip, not only that, but they had sugar cones as well! I was so overwhelmed with the gluten free choices! My local shopping is so very limited in selection so visiting these others stores is always a joy. I found so many new things to try, bought way more than my two Chico bags could handle!

So anyway, we made our way over to the bottled water area and noticed the shelf empty with a monitor playing Annie Leonard’s Bottled Water video. Basically MOM’s has banned bottled water from their shelves. In place of pre-filled plastic bottles, you can purchase from their wide assortment of reuseable bottles. To help consumers transition, they offer one FREE gallon of reverse-osmosis water on each trip to the store. Either purchase a gallon container from them or bring in your own. Additional gallons are only 39¢ each. Also, at the customer service desk you can fill your personal water bottle or have a drink in a biodegradable cup, straw & lid, both free of charge. Read the full story on MOM’s website.

I do buy bottled water, but only when absolutely necessary. I prefer to use one of our many reuseable bottles, but there are often times when we just don’t pack enough water for an outing. It’s nice to know I can stop by MOM’s and refill my bottles with clean, filtered water.

I think I’ll be shopping MOM’s much more often now. I hear they’re thinking of putting store in very near to me and I hope that happens soon. The increased cost of eating gluten free is killing my budget when you factor in, not only the higher prices on the food, but the increased gas to get to the well-stocked stores.

In March of this year, they even expanded their menu to offer even more dishes. “More and more of our guests are asking for gluten free options and we’re proud to offer them a greater variety of P.F. Chang’s classics,” said Gregg Piazzi, Director of Culinary Training for P.F. Chang’s China Bistro.  “P.F. Chang’s is sensitive to all of the food allergies and dining requirements of our guests and we strive to serve customized cuisine that meets each diner’s individual needs.” They now have 28 gluten free dishes.

I highly recommend the GF Lettuce Wraps for an appetizer. I hear they are better than the non-gluten free version, though I haven’t compared them myself. My favorite dish is Phillip’s Better Lemon Chicken and that should be followed by the Flourless Chocolate Dome! In August of this year, there should be a second gluten free dessert introduced to the menu, Triple Chocolate Mousse mini-dessert.

A few things to note, pay attention to your dish. Gluten free foods are served on round logo plates as opposed to the normal rectangle plates. Also, the soy sauce is not gluten free, you should request the gluten free version which should be in an entirely different container. At the location we recently visited (Columbia, Md), it was a red bowl instead of the standard white. I love these little differences, it really helps that I know that my server brought out the correct item for me. I think it also helps the server to not get confused between two items.

Have a look at the new menu and make your reservations online!

(click for full version)

On our latest trip to Whole Foods, which doesn’t happen often enough, I noticed that the Alexandria store was stocking a few Udi’s items. I remember seeing bread, bagels and at least something else that I can’t quite remember. I figured why not, it’s worth a try, right? I purchased one 4-pack of bagels which was quite expensive for my measly budget.

Today I pulled a bagel out of the freezer. I stood staring at the package trying to figure out whether to microwave or toast. Sometimes, with gluten free breads, it does matter. A quick Google search and I was confident that either way, I’d be happy with my bagel. Since I was rushing, microwave it was. I only did a few seconds, maybe 30 tops. From the microwave I removed a warm, SOFT bagel. Soft. Not crumbly. If you’ve had gluten free bread, you know what I’m talking about!

It was delicious. It was WAY more than I was expecting. I can not wait to make a bagel sandwich next. My only complaint is there are only 4 bagels in the package. As a family of 6, it’s going to be quite expensive to allow everyone a bagel, but the taste just may be worth it. I see myself buying these on every trip to Whole Foods and I hope Safeway or Giant will begin carrying them eventually.

A year ago I stumbled upon Homeschool Skedtrack. I wrote about it last year. I’d thought I’d do a one year follow up. I’m happy to report I’m still happy with program and gearing up to use it again this year.

My older kids, who are quite independent, needed much less of my time and were able to work at their own pace. They could find the things they needed, they didn’t need to ask what to do each day. We wasted so much less time this past year because they didn’t need to wait for me to get myself together. We used the grading system at the beginning of the year. It was a great motivator when we got into a slump. I was able to say, “You’re report card grades will be low if you don’t get your work done.” We discussed averages and how it was better to have a lot of high grades on work and only a few super low grades. We were able to see how not completing something and getting a “0″ would bring the overall grade down.

For my little ones, who weren’t using the system on their own, it was still quite helpful. As a work at home mom, I wasn’t wasting time trying to decide what to do each day or flipping through books to see where we left off. I just had to log in and I knew what I needed and what we were going to do.

Our workbox system was also quite successful. My messy child ended up with a messy box, but at least, for the most part, his things were contained in one area. My little ones don’t have boxes and won’t this year either. Since they still depend upon me, I keep their things in a cabinet behind my desk. As they learn to read and then work on their own, they’ll probably get their own boxes.

I’m the type of person that burns easily. No matter what sunscreen I use, I burn. And it hurts. I’ve tried many remedies and soothers over time and only one has worked every single time I use it, Burt’s Bees After Sun Soother. It contains not only aloe, but linden flower as a key ingredient as well.

Aloe
We all know the healing properties of aloe. Aloe has been used for years to relieve pain of burns, insect bites, wounds and other ailments. My Grandma always had an aloe plant around and the minute you mentioned a bug bite, she was breaking off a piece and handing it to you. Like her, I have an aloe plant growing in the kitchen. I’m starting to think I might need to grow another one!

Linden Flower
What makes Burt’s Bees After Sun Soother really work is the Linden Flower.  Linden Flowers come from the Linden tree. The active ingredients in the flowers include flavonoids, which act as antioxidants, and mucilaginous constituents, which soothe and reduce inflammation.  This is exactly what your inflamed and irritated skin needs in order to heal.

With these two key ingredients, the skin heals quickly, the pain is bearable and the skin peeling is minimal. Next time you plan to hit the beach or amusement park, or spend the day outside, pick up some After Sun Soother before you head out. Use it after a cool shower and reapply throughout the night. By morning, you’ll feel like you weren’t burned at all.