Home Sweet Home

We made it to Oregon! Moving cross country was by far one of the hardest things that I’ve ever done, but so far it’s been pretty worth it. Don’t get me wrong, I can’t wait to get settled, we sold everything to get here. I mean, we really did; we just got kitchen chairs the other day.

Our neighborhood is cute and pretty walkable, we’re near the grocery store, hardware store, library & a postal station so we have all of our basics covered which is nice. Although, one of the things we also got rid of was our car, so I haven’t been able to explore too much past my neighborhood or easily bus-able areas.

The air here is so clean and the people are so nice! We’ve had people stop us to point out cool clouds & rainbows to us, as well as sit with us at the bus stop to chat after we’ve asked them for directions. It’s crazy. I have a feeling we may be here for a while.

I miss my family like crazy & so does Violet. We have been so lucky to be close to our parents thus far, we’ve had to lean on them a lot, and that was one of the hardest luxuries to give up. I’m so thankful for video chat these days.

So yeah, we’re settling in, trying to get new health coverage, getting library cards, changing over driver’s licenses, looking for things for V to do, all that fun (read: not fun) stuff that comes with moving. I’m hoping to get Littlewhirl up and running again very soon! We have a lot of cool reviews coming up so keep checking back! xo

Also, I have to mention that today I am celebrating our 6th anniversary. A nice lazy day after we went out for a really excellent family brunch. Can you say caramel brioche roll?

Oh, and if you have a couch you want to get rid of, feel free to send it over. *wink wink*

Finally, the Fred & Friends winner!

Jeez, sorry it took so bloody long, this cross-country move kind of got the best of me. The winner is Penny! She said:

I love the Babushkups & the telephone boost seat!

Congrats Penny! I will be emailing you for your info shortly.

Oregon Trail

I don’t think I’ve mentioned this yet but we are in the midst of moving from Lil’ Rhody all the way to Portland Oregon! Things are crazy & this is literally the last time I will be using the compy until we get there & get settled. The truck gets picked up today (even though we aren’t even finished packing) and we fly out Wednesday. So wish us luck and use this extra time to leave a comment on the Fred & Friends post, I’m extending the giveaway by a week so we can get through this move.

Serenity now!

Dropps Winner!

Congrats to lucky #1, Jenna! She said:
Holy moly this awesome! I’m with you on hating that you can’t get that last bit of liquid out of the container. I would totally use the Baby one. Almost everything I buy is scent/dye free and I like things for baby’s because i’m really sensitive to all types of cleaning supplies and I don’t want Reno’s clothes to be exposed to any sort of dyes and chemicals.

I’ll be emailing you shortly for your info….enjoy your Dropps! Thanks to everyone who entered and don’t forget to enter our Fred & Friends GIveaway below! xo

Mai Pehn Rai, with Feelgoodz

I heart flip flops. In fact, I heart almost any shoe that doesn’t have laces as there are some days that parenthood does not even allow me the brainpower to even tie my own shoes. I am always on the hunt for awesome flip flops and damn, I found them! This spring a friend of mine returned from a job in Hawaii (jealous) with some really awesome looking flip flops. After I complimented her, she had me try them on. Holy moly you guys, these are the most comfortable flip flops I have ever had the privilege of putting on my feet. I immediately googled them after she left and what I found was not only a very cool collection of flip flops, but an amazing story of how they came to be. I’d paraphrase but honestly, you should read it yourself, it really is a great story.

Kyle Berner started Feelgoodz in late 2007 after years of bouncing from job to job trying to figure out what would make him happy. All it took was a trip to Thailand for him to figure out that it was flip-flops. Not bad, right?

I am so impressed head to toe (no pun intended) with Kyle. Not only does he have a great vision, he makes an incredibly comfortable, fair-trade, ecologically sound product AND he’s all about Philanthropy. His business model is: People, Planet, Profit. These guys work really hard to oversee that the rubber tree farmers & flop manufacturers have a good quality of life. Feelgoodz has a partnership with Ashoka.org and TransFairUSA.org and will use 5% of net profits from flip-flop sales in 2010 to become America’s First Fair Trade Certified Rubber Product by January 1, 2011. Woot!

Feelgoodz are made of natural latex rubber that comes straight from the yang para latex rubber trees (it takes about 30-40 years for a rubber tree to be completely tapped out). This ensures the biodegradability of the flops in 4-5 years. Can you imagine? When your done wearing your Feelgoodz you can bury them in the backyard if you want! You can read all about their business model here. They also have an awesome Facebook page & a Twitter account so you can stay up to date w/ all of their sales, contests & codes. These are my go-to flip flops for the rest of my life, they are SO comfy & they come in the best colors. I have been wearing these near-constantly since I got them. I can even stroll Clementine for hours in them and not feel like collapsing afterward. Now all they need to do is makes smaller ones so Violet will stop stealing mine (see above). (hint hint Kyle)

Stop by Feelgoodz and have a look around, never will you be able to find a cooler company than these guys. Right now they are having the great 5-5-5 Flip-Flop Feeding Fiesta: $5 off your order, $5 flat rate shipping, 5 Thai children fed for an entire day with the code FIESTA upon checkout. Keep flopping Kyle!

Readers, shortly after I wrote this review last week I found out that Feelgoodz is in a lot of danger financially because of the BP oil spill. The article is here, but the short version is this: They had a shipment of 10,000 flops sitting in the Bahamas that was to go to Whole Foods. By the time they got to it, it was 2 months late & now Whole Foods is getting ready for colder weather items (ie: NOT flip flops). So now these guys are sitting on 10,00 pairs of flops and are in danger of not being able to repay their 50,000.00 Village Capital Funding loan. So, they are searching desperately for ways to unload 10,000 flops at lightning speed. Kyle has created a special discount code for readers of the Change.org blog who purchase a pair of flip flops. Enter CHANGE at checkout for $5 off and $5 flat rate shipping. No limit. Visit their online store here.

These guys are super cool and I absolutely believe in their company/product/mission. Please help them out! xo

Awesome alert: Skip Hop Zoo Pack

Once again I will profess my love for Skip Hop. V was just gifted with an owl Zoo Pack and I think I may love it more than she does. That being said, I am happy that she now has a bag that’s as durable as mine, I’ve been rocking the same Duo since she was born in 2006 & the thing is a workhorse! I swear, it’s like the Volvo 240 of diaper bags. Although, I admit, I constantly drool over all of their other bags. I can quit any time I want!

The Zoo Pack is the most perfect size for little kids. I can fit an extra change of clothes, sunblock, a water bottle, lunch, a folder and whatever random toy V decides she *needs* to bring to school that today (today it was fake poop, I’m not kidding). It’s roomy & sturdy but not huge. I see all those poor kiddos walking around with their LL Bean backpacks that are bigger than they are and I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Zoo Packs come in 8 different styles and not only are they adorable but they are under twenty bucks! Zoo Packs are made of BPA-Free, Phthalate-free & PVC Free polyester, have padded straps, a mesh drink pocket and……this is the best part…..a write on name tag inside. V loves her owl pack, it’s easy for her to carry and she can recognize it immediately when it’s time to grab it and head home. I can tell that it makes her feel super cool to have a backpack, it’s adorable. Skip Hop also makes matching insulated lunch totes! Geez, that Bee lunchie is calling my name…..

Stop by www.skiphop.com & have a look at all of their amazing items. They literally just keep making more of it!

The coolest dinner guests around:
Fred & Friends (& giveaway!)

So you have a picky eater. You’ve tried everything you can think of: bribes, hiding vegetables in chocolate, feeding them while they sleep (okay, maybe that’s pushing it). Maybe it’s worth a try providing them with awesome dinnerware in which they can eat their healthy food with?

Thankfully, I have been blessed with a very good eater (her nickname at playgroup last year was “The Sampler”, no joke) so I can’t say for sure that these things will actually make your kid eat BUT, I can guarantee that they will make mealtime super fun. Fred & friends has so many nifty things that I could quite literally spend hours window shopping & still have a hard time deciding what to buy. If I could, I would probably have an entire set of Mr & Ms. Food Face plates, because V loves hers. She requests it for almost every meal, so actually, I guess I probably am going to have to get more so I don’t have to wash it every day. The first day we had it she had a ton of fun styling Ms. Food Face with her Lemony Broccoli & Chickpea Pasta (a la Words to Eat By), and as you can see above, pineapple makes some pretty luxurious blonde hair (I couldn’t think of a clever name for her, any suggestions?). Yes, mealtime takes a bit longer but hey, it usually does anyway and at least it’s amusing!

We also tested out a pair of Chimpsticks and they are so cool! We had a pair of small kid chopsticks forever that drove me crazy because V couldn’t use them properly & would get really frustrated when she tried. Chimpsticks are held together at the top by a sweet little silicone chimp and the bottoms are cute little monkey hands. Way less pointy than your average chopsticks and easy for little ones to use because the are attached at the top. Less frustrating for the both of us, and way cuter.

Lastly, the crown jewel of our new Fred & friends collection are the Ice Princess trays. Literally the DAY before these arrived V wanted this crappy dollar store wand SO BADLY & I promised that I would find her a much better wand. Voila. What is better than a straw ice wand? It doesn’t even require batteries AND it stays in your freezer so there’s no risk of tripping over it in the middle of the night because it was left on the floor. Win-win if you ask me. We definitely have to get more of these.

Long story short, I heart Fred & friends. It’s a non-stop parade of awesomely clever things that you can actually use. Not to mention they are right here in Lil’ Rhody which is very cool because you know I heart the local businesses. Fred & friends have also kindly set me up with an extra set of Chimpsticks, Ice Princess trays & a Ms. Food Face plate for you to win! Yeah! You know the drill: To enter, visit www.wordwidefred.com and have a look around. Come back here and leave me a comment telling me what your favorite item is (personally, I *have* to get me some of those Babushkups). For extra entries you can Like Fred & friends on Facebook, Like Littlewhirl on Facebook, Follow Fred & friends on Twitter, Follow Littlewhirl on Twitter, Blog about this giveaway (with a link back to this entry), Tweet about this giveaway (@littlewhirl with a link to this entry), or updating your Facebook status to mention this giveaway (with a link back to this entry). Just don’t forget to leave a separate comment here for every entry that you do or it won’t count! The winner will be chosen August 30th, Good Luck!

Follow Friday (a few of my favorite links)

Okay, so maybe every other week? This Hand, Foot & Mouth grossness has really put a damper on my writing time. Also, how awesome is this Lego fail whale?

Windowfarms! These are so super cool.

Another Andrew Bird link, I love this song & Daytrotter is awesome too.

Violet’s godfather Chris builds beautiful bikes. Go drool over their Flickr stream.

Stop Trying to Be a Man Man is hilarious.

The Arcade Fire’s new Album ‘The Suburbs’ is available to stream on NPR Music. Go Listen!

I heart Holly Golightly.

ZeDonk!

Seventh Generation to Sell Products in Walmart Stores, Hell to Sell Ice

Okay, now usually I’m not a huge fan of this stuff (too much vomit for my liking) but my husband just showed me the trailer for the new Jackass 3D movie. That’s right, 3D. I think I have to see it. The trailer alone is worth it for the high-five at the end.

Okay, that’s it for me. Almost time to go get my hair cut. Have a great weekend everyone! xo

*photo courtesy of tveskov

Tag*a*long Winner!

Our winner is Sarah t who said:

I love that it fits on things other than a stroller.i love the blueberry one.

Congrats Sarah! I’ll be contacting you for your info shortly!

Hand, Foot & Mouth blows

Need I say more? V got it Sunday and after witnessing her stick a spoon that she had just been using into her little sister’s mouth, I was kind of anticipating this. Poor Clem has it much worse than V did, the pediatrician got her mouth open for me today & revealed TONS of sores in her little mouth. Sick babies are SO sad.