Thinkfun Roll & Play

     Toddlers interact with their world around them─ they learn to think and understand behavior and how it affects their environment.  Through the introduction of simple and amusing games, you can help to nurture your little one’s early cognitive, development and motor abilities.  Thinkfun® Roll & Play™ is a wonderful first game that will grow with your child.  Roll the cube and help your toddler identify the color side up when the cube lands.  The six activities in the 48 card set are easy to read and are broken down into categories of Emotions, Body Parts, Animal Sounds, Counting, Colors and Actions.  These cards describe and illustrate the activities that you will speak or act out.  Very quickly, you and your child will be ‘mooing’ like a cow; seeking out items around the house that are of a particular color; or making silly faces at each other.  Our family really enjoyed playing with this simple yet engagingly interactive, well-made game, and it has quickly become a favorite ‘go-to’ game on our weekly Friday game nights. It is entirely portable, and it is a great game to bring along on trips to visit family or play dates. The activities will challenge your child, while expanding their creativity and imagination.  The convenient storage pocket on the side of this colorful, soft dice keeps the cards together and safe from possibly going lost.  Best of all, especially knowing how messy toddlers can get during play; the Roll & Play™ is machine washable! 

     Thinkfun® Roll & Play™ is designed for children between the ages of 18 months and up, and is best played with two or more players.  Retailing for $19.99, the Thinkfun® Roll & Play™ can be purchased at Barnes & Noble and specialty toy stores nationwide. For further information on the Roll & Play™ or other educational products from Thinkfun®, please visit their website at: www.ThinkFun.com

Modest Momma's May Skin Care Products Spotlight

     Nelsons Pure & Clear Purifying Daily Cleansing Wash─ Combining the essential oils of Lavender, Tea Tree, Petitgrain and Grapefruit oil, nestled within a natural seaweed formula, this cleansing wash helps to clear impurities and soothe and restore skin, leaving it feeling cleansed and invigorated. This foaming cleanser can be used individually or as part of the Nelsons Pure and Clear 4-step acne skin care system. The first thing our family noticed about Nelsons Pure and Clear Purifying Daily Cleansing Wash was the scent.  My husband and son appreciated the fact that the scent, while not flowery, was bright, crisp and clean.  As someone who is constantly on the lookout for products without parabens, sodium lauryl sulfates, artificial colorants and fragrances, this cleansing wash thankfully contains none of those.  Word of advice─ while this is not a sudsy cleanser, it does not affect its cleansing ability.  Our skin, after a month of use, felt smooth, clean, while maintaining adequate moisture.  Nelsons Pure &  Clear Purifying Daily Cleansing Wash retails for $10.95, and it can be purchased at Whole Foods Markets nationwide.  For further information, please visit their website at:

http://www.nelsonsnaturalworld.com/en-us/us/our-brands/nelsons-pure-clear/

     Aura Cacia Cheering Foam Bath─ The uplifting and refreshing blend of 100% pure tangerine and sweet orange essential oils fills your bathroom with the lovely scents, while leaving your little ones delicate skin smooth and refreshed.  Contains no synthetic colors, fragrances or preservatives, this package had enough of product to use for two bubble baths in our house.  Aura Cacia Cheering Foam Bath is also safe for use in whirlpool baths and spas.  Retailing for $3.29 per 2.5oz pouch, Aura Cacia Cheering Foam Bath can be purchased thru their website at: http://www.auracacia.com/auracacia/acindex.html

     Gabriel Cosmetics Clean Kids Naturally Tropical Orange Burst Shampoo and Banana Smoothie Detangler

 Gabriel Cosmetics Clean Kids Naturally line features organic botanical extracts joined together with all natural ingredients combined to create a gentle and pleasant skin and hair care products that will provide your family with a healthy alternative.  The Tropical Orange Burst Shampoo provides you with a very effective yet gentle, tearless (yes, there were NO Tears shed in our household when we used this product) cleanser.  The refreshing aroma’s from orange and lime balance your hair and scalp, while protecting your little ones hair from the damaging effects of sun exposure.  The Banana Smoothie Detangler contains extracts of real Banana oil, leaving your little ones hair looking shiny and soft, painlessly removing all those annoying knots.  Retailing for $8.75 each, Gabriel Cosmetics Clean Kids Naturally Tropical Orange Burst Shampoo and Banana Smoothie Detangler can be purchased online at their website at: http://www.gabrielcosmeticsinc.com/index.cfm?category=4

      Trillium Organics Ogi baby Organic Tubby Rubby Soapless Cleanser─ Trillium Organics offers this dry blend of gentle herbs, including the calming chamomile, calendula and lavender, combined with the soothing properties from oats offers families with a soapless, yet ideal herbal bath alternative.  Fill the muslin sac (provided with the product) with the herbal blend, seal the sac closed and drop into baby’s bath.  Once you have found the sac to be completely saturated after a few minutes, squeeze it out and dunk it repeatedly like you would when you make a cup of tea, until you notice that the sac emits milky white colored water.   Squeeze the oat/herbal milk all over your little ones delicate skin.  The soothing milk doesn’t have to be rinsed off with fresh water, as the oat/herbal milk mixture leaves your baby with a soothing protective coating over their skin.  We found that this product is perfect for babies and children with eczema and other sensitive skin conditions, as it prevented irritation and relieved their skin. For further information, please visit the Trillium Organics website at: http://trilliumorganics.com

Hyland's Leg Cramps Ointment

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     Over ten percent of healthy children in the United States experience intermittent pains (commonly referred to as ‘growing pains’) in their leg, calf or thigh muscles. Usually lasting between 10 to 30 minutes, they tend to occur late in the day or night.  Causes of cramps in children can include electrolyte imbalances, specifically potassium and magnesium deficiency. Exercise can also cause dehydration with loss of electrolytes and fluids in sweat, resulting in cramps. In addition, children (and indeed adults also) often sit or stand in awkward postures for extended periods of time precipitating muscle cramps. For young children, leg cramps are painful and often scary since it can feel like your muscles are ripping. 

     Sadly, both my husband and son suffer from what can only be described as painful cramps in their legs and calves.  Between heating pads, hot baths, ice packs, alcohol rubs and plenty of aspirin, nothing that we tried in the past brought either one of them any sense of relief.  We recently received a sample of Hyland’s Leg Cramps Ointment, and almost immediately, both my favorite boys felt relief.  This non-greasy, pleasant wintergreen scented ointment quickly soothes as it warms (without the overbearing burn of some other muscle ointments on the market) the affected area after application.  After massaging it into his legs after waking up recently in the middle of the night, and he was back to sleep in only minutes.  Something which never happened before, as our son would be up for hours after awaking from the pain.  Our family highly recommends this homeopathic, quick healing product.  Hyland’s Leg Cramps Ointment is available for purchase at CVS, Wal-Mart, and Walgreens nationwide.  For further information, please visit their website at: http://www.hylands.com/index.php