One of the scary-nerve-wracking parts of being a parent is knowing that accidents happen. Despite what precautions we might take keeping medicine out of reach, despite making sure she wears a helmet while on her bike, or making sure he doesn’t eat the peanuts he’s allergic to, things happen. The even scary part is that we as parents are supposed to know what to do when things happen. I mean, I don’t know about you but if I know something major has happened, I tend to freak out a little bit!  Thankfully, we have not had anything serious happen that needed the attention of 911 or a trip to the ER, but I did have to call Poison Control twice.  Like I said, things happen, but the important thing is to know what to do.

Enter this amazing know-it-all book: “If Your Kid Eats This Book, Everything Will Still Be Okay” by Lara Zibners, MD. Dr. Zibners is an emergency room pediatrician that has taken her experience in the field and put it in a usable book format.  She realized that 50% of ER trips were not needed, so she wrote this book to help parents know when medical service is needed and when we can do something about it at home. I love this book.  It covers everything you can think of from baby vomit and poops to broken bones and even when they shove things up their nose, and it’s all written in a humorous way. Each chapter is divided by body parts and situations like “The Plumbing,” “The Noggin and Nervous System,” or “Allergies, Bites, and Stings” and there is a content page that makes specific issues easy to find in a hurry.   Dr. Zibner addresses each issue  with descriptive details, measures that can be done at home, when to call the doctor, and reminders, of course, to remain calm.

I love that she also includes little knowledgeable tidbits throughout the book like “Is it sprained or broken?” and even has a chapter on prevention.  She obviously has the knowledge and experience, but breaks the material down in such a way that even a mom under stress can understand what action to take and even can cause a chuckle or two with her choice of words. It’s fun book to read even if you aren’t experiencing a possible emergency.

Absolutely, this is definitely a must have book for any parent, parent-to-be, or even a babysitter!

P.S. If you head over to Amazon you can get an inside look at the contents and check out Dr. Zibners’ website for more information.

So, if yall didn’t hear yet…I found out I am pregnant again a few weeks ago!  Which, is why this most recent review (and giveaway for you!) had perfect timing. While I am not due until December, I absolutely will be breastfeeding this baby as well.  My breastfeeding relationship with Savannah was a much treasured time, so much so that I was sad to see it end at 10 months and I just could not make anymore.  See, I started going back to college when Savannah was 6 months old, but in doing so it was hard to maintain my supply. Let me just say, pumping in bath rooms between classes was not fun (but I will be doing it again, I’m sure!) and it often left me forgetting I had my pump in my backpack and it quickly got moldy (I NEVER fed her the milk, don’t worry. It was “pump and dump” to keep my supply going and keep me from busting). Obviously, once our breastfeeding relationship was over I could not keep that pump. I knew it would not be safe for future baby feeding use, so I tossed it.

I knew I would have to buy another one for this baby, and I’m so glad Mom Central provided this opportunity to review the new Evenflo Comfort Select Performance Dual Auto-Cycling Breast Pump. While I obviously can’t try it out just yet, I can tell you how excited I am about this product and my initial impression. Firstly, I was impressed with how compact and light the bag is. I don’t know about you, but when I think about dual electric pumps I think big bulky bags that I’ve seen busy Mom’s carrying around. This? Is about the same size as my purse, and definitely lighter than my purse The dual bag has two openings, one side is insulated to store your breast milk (it even comes with ice packs!) and the other holds all the pumping supplies you need.

Even though I can’t use it yet, I did open my box up to test how easy it is to put together. I’ve never used an electric pump before so I was not quite sure how that would differ from my manual one, but it wasn’t much different. And, even if you don’t have experience with pumps it is still easy!  The directions are very clearly explained and it is not too many parts to put together. The only issue I had was my own fault; I looked over a step about putting the horn piece to the pump unit, and I got it stuck! So, just make sure you read everything carefully (and boil before your first official use, of course) and it’ll be simple.

The pump itself has many features that I love as well. Such as, it comes with a nipple adapter to make it smaller and fit properly if needed, it has several speeds to assure comfort, and you can either plug it in or use batteries. I also love that this is a dual pump. From my experience, it is MUCH easier to have a successful pump from both sides if you pump at the same time because the “let down” happens at the same time.  I’m so excited to have two now!  And an added health bonus?  All the plastic pieces, including the bottles, are BPA free. Which means, a healthier baby and ease of mind for mommy.

You can win it!

I will be giving away a Comfort Select Performance Dual Auto-Cycling Breast Pump (sealed and unopened) as well as two boxs of Disposable Nursing Pads (one with Lanolin).

The Rules

1. You must be pregnant or breastfeeding currently.

2. Sorry, but this is only open to entries in the USA.

3. Simply leave a comment on this post telling me why you need this product ie. you are pregnant, or nursing, and will be going back to work, just need a pump to store milk for babysitters or Daddies to use, whatever! And/or tell me why you love breastfeeding  or why you plan to breastfeed.

4. Comments will close Thursday, April 30th and the winner will be announced Friday, May 1st!

5. For extra bonus tickets: twitter, blog, facebook, myspace, whatever, about this giveaway and comment with the link(s).

Also! There is more than one place to win this item! One place I know of is over at Mom Central where they have three to giveaway, and go double (triple, quadruple) your chances and look out for other blogs participating in this blog tour.

Congrats Cyndi! I’ve sent you an email so if you would reply to that with the necisarry information.

Thanks for entering, everyone! I promise more great giveaways are coming in the next month

And the winners are…

#9) Coley!

#7) Crystal!

#2) Elizabeth M.!

Congrats ladies! I will be emailing you your gift certificates via email shortly. Enjoy

And thanks to everyone who entered, there are sure to be more giveaways coming.

Once upon a time, I was a dancer. Starting way back at age 7, I did tap and jazz with my best friend until I moved away at the age of 11. By the time I was 13, I was itching to start dancing again and was excited when I got to know another friend who also danced and I joined her dance studio doing ballet. Soon after getting “warmed up” to dancing again, I tried out to be in their competing dance group and made it! Quickly my life became a whirl wind of practices, costumes, make up, memorizing dances, trying to become limber and remembering to point my toes for the next 3 years. I made lots of new friends, got to travel to cool new places, be in parades, and we did generally well in our small competitions. What dance was for me, is like what playing football or playing an instrument is to others. I lived it and breathed it. But sadly, one day that desire stopped. And so did I.

And that brings me to today, where I’m a Mom of a spunky 1 year old. I still dance, but with a little one by my side and giggling the whole time. Which, is why I was thrilled to receive the opportunity to review the DVD, “Prima Princessa presents Swan Lake.” It’s a 40 minute movie created by two New Jersey Moms who wanted to provide girls with a fun movie that features their favorite things: princesses, tiaras, and ballerinas. Need I say more?

Savannah was attracted to it the moment I opened the package from Prima Princessa Productions and quickly asked to watch it. She instantly became fascinated with the little girls dancing around the screen in pink tutus and when they introduced a new dance move between Acts of Swan Lake, she would try, too! Soon she was twirling, kicking, and jumping just like them.

There are four Acts of Swan Lake performed by the famous Paris Opera Ballet in which Prima Princessa narrates throughout, which I love. For the dance lover I used to be, I still was not very familiar with the story of Swan Lake so it helped for me to know what was going on, and I know that is helpful for younger girls as well. Savannah was not as interested in the professional story scenes, but that could be accounted for by her (and any 1 year old’s) short attention span. I’ve read other reviews with older children (pre-school age) watching and they seem to love the entire thing.

So, even though Savannah is still a bit young to fully enjoy the fun and beauty of ballet, this DVD is certainly one she will grow into and we will continue watching together. And really? It’s nice to sit back and think about my dancing days again, and I look forward to sharing the world I used to love with Savannah as she grows.

And…you can enjoy this DVD with your little girl as well! For free! I have a brand new, still wrapped copy of Prima Princessa ready and waiting for your own little dancing princess. All you have to do is leave a comment telling me a cute story about your daughter (or who ever you think might enjoy this) by midnight, July 24th. Winners will be picked randomly and announced on July 25th, right here at O Momma Reviews. You don’t have to have a blog to enter, just a valid email address. Good luck!

Visit their website for a video clip of the DVD, download coloring pages of Prima Princessa, and read what others have to say about the movie.

BlogHer Ads is introducing a new feature to their awesome blogger ad program: Paid Reviews!  On my other blog, O Momma Writes, you’ll see their ads on the left that display family friendly ads with featured posts from bloggers underneath each day.  And, some times you’ll see some great coupons, contests, and give aways!  I can’t say enough good things about BlogHer, they offer some great opportunities for us Mom bloggers.

So now, in order to take advantage of this new review program I needed a separate blog. And here it is! I’m proud to introduce O Momma Reviews. Below you’ll see a few of the reviews, all unpaid, I’ve done on O Momma Writes that I’ve moved over here.  Hopefully some good opportunities come along.

I’m still getting the blog fixed up how I’d like it, so bare with me as I adjust things around.

I think I’ve found a new favorite lotion! It’s a natural skin care product that acts as a shielding lotion, locks in moisture and leaves skin feeling soft. And, it’s ingredients are over 93% natural, how often can you say that in today’s trend of injecting ingredients that causes who knows what?

I’ve tried other shielding lotions and loved the results I got on these dry winter-dish-washing-diaper-changing hands, but it wasn’t up to par to use for a facial lotion for my skin type. It left my face feeling stiff and still in need of more lotion. See, my skin type is that weird combo skin during the winter: very oily but prone to getting extreme dry spots. How do you fix one problem without making the other worse? If I use a heavier lotion to cure the dryness, I get clogged pores and a shiny face the rest of the day. If I use a lighter lotion aimed toward soaking up the shine, it makes the flakes worse and pretty much is useless all around. Winter does nothing good for my skin.

I discovered Skin MD and I’m in love. It’s made for hands, feet, face and body. So, pretty much all over. Who really wants 4 different lotions for different parts, anyways? I tried it on my hands first, and loved how it was very light with no scent and soaked in immediately leaving my skin soft and hydrated. Then the next morning, in my desperate need of a face lotion I braved putting it on my face. And, it worked!

It’s light enough not to get in the way of make-up, feel heavy or greasy, but still works well to soak in the dry areas that need it. It’s the perfect balance and preface to my make up routine. It works great to apply under the eyes where they get dried out from my eye make up remover, without irritating my eyes. It’s been known to help with anti-aging, not that I’m quite there in my 20 year old body but perhaps it will help prevent aging in the future!


It’s perfect for sensitive skin (remember those natural ingredients?) and other skin conditions such as eczema or psoriasis. Eczema seems to run in our family, thankfully Savannah only very slight issues with it, but I’ll be trusting this product to use on her as well.

I have to admit, too, that my feet are a disgusting cracked desert in the winter. I hate, hate, hate it. So, that’s where I’ll be applying the true test of moisture and healing.

At $25 per 4 oz. bottle, it is priced more than your typical lotion, but that’s the thing, it’s not a typical lotion. It surpasses by far and well worth the price. And, a little goes a long way so you shouldn’t need to buy it often!

Try it for your self! You can get your own free sample by sending a self addressed stamped envelope to:

21st Century Formulations
Free Sample Offer
9663 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 860
Beverly Hills, CA 90210

Thanks to Crazy Hip Blog Mamas, I had the opportunity to try the Gloves in a Bottle lotion. The package arrived on my door step 3 weeks ago (so, I’m a little late writing this!) but I was immediately impressed without even trying the product. How so? Not only did they send me samples packets to share with others, but they sent an entire 8 fl oz bottle to keep. Most “samples” I’ve gotten have been tiny packets that last just enough for 1 or 2 tries. A company that believes in their product enough to ship off an entire bottle to get the good word out, that’s awesome in my book!

Soon after opening the well put together package, I tried the lotion. Again, I was impressed. It made my hands extremely soft, but not greasy. Greasy lotion is a common issue in my dry-handed world. I can’t open bottles and door knobs with greasy lotion hands. It filled in the dry, cracked parts. It claims to be like “gloves” in a bottle, protecting your skin from bad stuff getting in and keeping the moisture and good stuff in. It also even goes as far to say as it won’t wash off for at least 4 hours. So, I tested it out. Soon after putting this moisturizer on, I went to give Savannah her nightly bath. Guess what? It was still working strong long after we were finished.

Another great thing? It’s scent free! I have an issue with strong scents and getting headaches from them. As much as I love Bath and Body Works, I can’t use their lotions. Some other customers have wrote saying they have even used it for a facial moisturizer, I think I’ll try that!

This lotion fits the bill exactly what I needed this winter: Protects and moisturizes better and longer than any other product I’ve used, and does it’s job without getting in the way with greasiness and headaches. A product well done!