Friday Favorite

Today's favorite is another baby product (what can I say...this is what consumes my life right now!) BUT...I believe that the other products offered in this line would be equally amazing and worth it's weight in gold, though I haven't personally tried them, I know others who have been pleased with them. And I will be purchasing one soon when Garrett needs a lunch thermos for school!


The Thermos - Foogo sippy cup...absolutely amazing! You don't have to worry about the scary BPA chemicals leaching into your precious baby's drinks...these cups are tough and durable...and easy to clean and most importantly do not leak at all!!! And I love that they are insulated...so once Ethan moves on to the whole milk stage of life...no need to chase him around and demand his cup be placed in the fridge every 30 seconds! (yeah...I kind of have a milk phobia!!!)

The cups are a little pricey...I paid $10 for Ethan's a few months ago...but this was small beans compared to many of the other BPA-free cups out there on the market! There are also more frugal choices in the BPA-free quest...our other favorite due to the ease of finding them and how cheap they are and they are pretty decent at the no-spill factor...are the Nuby soft-spout cups (I got a 2 pk at Target for about $4 - and they have lids...the single cup at Walmart doesn't come with a lid...in case that is important to you!)

I think I may get Garrett something like this one when he's toting his lunch to school each day...and maybe Ethan too since he likes straw cups better than sippys now anyway! These cups state that they'll keep the beverage cold for up to 12 hours, so I know that Garrett's drink will still be icy cold at lunch-time! I know most people are not so picky...but I cannot drink anything that is not ice-cold (weird, I know)...so I apparently think that my kids feel the same way...yea, probably not! They do have more kid-happy versions, complete with cartoon characters if your child so desires...but I prefer the plain styles for our house!!!

Side note...for those of you who don't know what BPA is...it stands for Bisphenol-A, a chemical that is used in many plastics...especially those plastics in so many baby products. The FDA states that the amount of BPA in manufactured products is safe for humans...but when your child comes in contact with MANY of these products that have this chemical, the levels of BPA found in your child's system become quite alarming! These chemicals...matched with the rapid growth of your child during their early years are causing some real health issues! Check out these sites for other (and better info, since I'm sure my definition does the issue no justice at all)...

This one is a great blog...and has reviews on tons of safe baby products:

Nature Moms Blog

This one has TONS of great info:

A Mom's Blog

Or just google BPA and you'll come up with hordes of information!

Enchanted

Since I am always looking for movie or book recommendations...I've decided to share some of what I've been watching or reading with you...in hopes that you will return the favor! hint, hint, hint!

That being said, I feel I have to begin by explaining that I must not have grown up past the age of 14. Whew...that feels good to get that out there! :)

Now let me explain, I am realizing that the movies/books/even some TV shows that I enjoy (when I have the time to read or watch), are often in the teeny-bopper genre. Hmmm....maybe I shouldn't be admitting this! :) But for this movie recommendation...that fact needs to be understood. Maybe it's the fact that these books or movies are often 'safe'...not filled with anything too serious or depressing or smutty or dirty or crass or anything of that nature. :) I understand that I will get mercilessly made fun of for this fact - but there you have it...I prefer the simple and pleasant!

Anyway, we rented the movie "Enchanted" this weekend (and yes, I was very much looking forward to watching it!!!) I'm trying to think of the best way to describe it...maybe...delightfully cheesy would best sum it up. It was cute and funny and slightly over-the-top at times, but I have to admit that I really liked it.

It's a cute story that starts out as a cartoon with the classic Disney storyline - a princess in search of her prince, the prince who rides in gallantly to save her from a perilous situation, helpful forest animals and a wicked stepmother/witch who tries to keep them apart by pushing the princess right out of her cartoon world and into real-life Manhattan. (okay, so the Manhattan part isn't so classic Disney...but made for an interesting story-line!) Giselle, our sweet princess is stranded and finds her way, (while finding herself and true love) in spite of being utterly naive to the ways of real life.

For some of the particulars...the story-line seemed kinda choppy in parts, like you were just supposed to know certain facts already, but the acting (in my opinion) was entertaining and the story-line was interesting. Again, this is a random Disney film and not some epic movie...so I'm pretty sure that no one will be receiving Oscar nominations for their roles or anything! My favorite by far though, was Amy Adams who plays the extremely innocent and always cheerful princess. She does such a great job! Patrick Dempsey is just a great actor, and the match-up seemed to fit very well. James Marsden plays the arrogant prince and pulls off the cockiness with a likable charm. My only problem (and this is completely a weird little nuisance to me) was that certain voices in animated movies don't seem to match a certain character. Susan Sarandon plays the witch in this movie and does well...but later she turns herself into a dragon and the voice just doesn't work for me. Random opinion I know...and just to ruin another movie for you...I was also bugged the entire time watching the new 'Charlotte's Web'...Julia Roberts voice as a spider??? That one just doesn't sit right with me either! Okay, enough of this random side-note and back to my review! :)

Garrett watched this with us...and though there were some scary parts, which we skipped through a bit, and a few parts that I was glad went over his head a bit...he really enjoyed it. We've been having a great time re-hashing some of the funny (okay, totally cheesy) parts. And just a warning...the songs are especially catchy and will get stuck in your head for quite some time!

So have fun watching...if you so choose. And feel free to leave any recommendations for anything you've watched or read too...and no, they don't all have to be at a third-grade reading level or have a teen sensation in the cast! I do read and watch real books and movies...just not this weekend!