Hellobee

Whenever I want to buy a new toiletry for Charlie and Olive, I always look it up on EWG’s Cosmetics Database to check out the safety of its ingredients first. The Cosmetics Database uses 2 factors to evaluate a product’s safety: 1) a hazard score of 0-10 to designate the hazard risk of a product’s ingredients, and 2) a data availability score of none to robust based on how much scientists know/don’t know about an ingredient’s safety. The site suggests that both factors be taken into account when determining the safety of a product.

I always try to buy products in the low hazard range, and luckily my favorite brands like California Baby, Episencial, and Earth Mama Angel Baby have really great, safe products!

Check out some of your favorite products… you might be surprised what you find!

Since Olive will turn 1 in October and will start walking in the colder months, her first shoes will probably be a pair of Toms. But come summer, I can’t wait to get a matching pair of mom and me Saltwater sandals.

(images clockwise from left: 1, 2, 3)

I’ve always been a huge fan of these comfortable, classic sandals. Now I just have to decide which color! I’m partial to red, but yellow and white are just as adorable.

When Olive starts walking, I can’t wait to get her a pair of adorable Tiny Toms. They come in a ton of fun prints and colors. Maybe I’ll even get a matching pair. ;)

I don’t know how much longer dvds will be around, but I was excited to find out via Gourmified that Disney will replace your broken Disney dvds for $6.95/dvd or $8.95/blu-ray. Simply fill out the Disc Replacement Form and mail it in with your broken dvd and payment. You can send a bunch of dvds in at once, but there is only one replacement per title, per year. A pretty sweet deal, and most parents probably have no idea that this program exists!

PS – My favorite Disney movies are Lion King (forever my favorite), Beauty and the Beast, and The Little Mermaid.

Like most children (and most everyone!), Charlie loves ice cream. But we don’t love all the sugar in them so lately we’ve been making our own ice cream with these Tovolo ice cream molds. We’ve been keeping it simple by blending milk with fruit and a touch of maple syrup for sweetness. Charlie loves them! We’re definitely going to experiment with lots of recipes, including one with yogurt, this summer!

I found this nifty teething chart from Orajel on Pinterest yesterday. Charlie’s teeth really did sprout in this order. We’re still waiting for his upper and lower second molars, which come in sometime between 23-33 months. File this under good to know!

Maclaren released a new umbrella stroller called the Globetrotter in January of this year.  It’s a cross between the light weight of the Maclaren Volo, with the reclining feature of the Maclaren Quest, and falls right in the middle weight-wise and price-wise between the two. At just 10.6 lbs, it’s comparable in weight to the UppaBaby G-Luxe, but is competitively priced at $160 compared to $189.99 for the G-Luxe.

When purchasing an umbrella stroller, recline was the most important feature so I debated between the Quest and the G-Luxe. I ended up getting the Quest, but had the Globetrotter been available with its lower price point and lower weight, I definitely would have opted for it instead. I was glad to see that there is an extended sunshade on the Globetrotter, as the one on our Quest is far too small. And like all Maclaren strollers, the Globetrotter comes with a rain cover and a lifetime warranty. While I’m not a fan of Maclaren’s brake placement because of the difficulty to get it down stairs, it’s still a solidly built quality stroller that I would recommend.