Family Life

How Tos

Reviews




Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Casey's Wood Toys



I wanted to...no I HAD to post a review of these toys for you guys because these things are so FANTASTIC I just couldn't keep them to myself!  I'm not sponsored by them nor do I really know them in any way other than I've bought a LOT of their toys over the past couple of years for crafting, playing, or gifting.

A good chunk of their toys are made right here in Maine using american grown hardwood and they will even tell you exactly which ones.  They have a very easy to use website, their customer service is lickety split, their shipping is reasonable and the best part, the BEST part?! Is that you can get GREAT toys for your toddler to practice colors, building, shape sorting or whatever all for a VERY low price!

None of their toys come finished or painted so that part you have to (or in my opinion you GET to) do yourself but there are plenty of easy to find non-toxic paints and finishes perfect for your mouthy baby or toddler.  We like to use organic local beeswax to finish ours but you can use anything from mineral oil to commercial food safe wood finish.

You can find Casey's Wood Toys website here http://www.caseyswood.com/ and if you are in the area you can even stop by to pick up your order.

You can also search etsy or google for "Montessori Wood Toys" to get inspiration for what you might do with your toys!











Read more ...

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

BumGenius Elemental Cloth Diaper Old vs New


The Bum Genius Elemental All-In-One is the absolute BEST cloth diaper.  I love them and own a million of them, if you're interested in trying out some cloth I would highly recommend starting with these, you can find them on Amazon by clicking HERE.

Several months ago Bum Genius updated the design of their SUPER POPULAR Elemental All In One diaper.  As this is my ABSOLUTE favorite cloth diaper (and I've tried THEM ALL) I was in an immediate panic - would it be as good as the old style?!

In short, yes it is every bit as good.  In some ways its better and in others its worse but in general "That'll do pig."

The new diaper (red)  is bigger, thinner, and has different leg gussets.  The new ones are encased, and fully accessible leading to replaceable elastic.  
The new diapers are thinner because they have two layers less of absorbent organic cotton, while they still have 6 layers in the soaker, they are missing the additional 2 layers that were previously sewn directly into the cover.
The new elementals have a wider and longer soaker so you can now place a full sized insert directly underneath them.  

I hope that clears a few things up for anyone who was wondering, and as always feel free to leave questions in the comments, below are some more comparison shots with the old style in purple and the new style in red. 






Read more ...