AppleCheeks NEW Limited Edition Release is REVEALED!

If you were glued to your computer, you would have saw that just over half an hour ago AppleCheeks revealed their NEW Limited Edition colour. Did you have a guess? Was it correct?

Take a look at the video to see Amy and Ilana's quirky antics and the sweet sweet colour you have been waiting for :)





There are a select few preorders left, more will come available as they are shipped to us. These will ship as soon as they land in our hands, hopefully no later than next week!

Happy Thursday :)
PS Want a chance to win one? Keep your eyes peeled on our facebook page TONIGHT!

Cloth diapering not one, not two but THREE!

Welcome Theresa! This guest blogger mamma is cloth diapering three children, ages two and under.

Have you thought about cloth diapering your babies, but were too overwhelmed by it all to even bother?  I totally understand.  I definitely felt that way when I had my first child.  But, I decided to take the plunge because:

1)      I felt really icky about putting thousands of paper/plastic pee and poop filled diapers in landfills where they will stay and fester for who knows how long.

2)      They are super cute.

Those were reason enough for me!

So, I researched my options.  Did I want All-in-One (AIO) diapers, Pocket diapers or All-in-Two (AI2)?  Did I want to go with one size (OS) covers or sized covers?  What kind of inserts did I want?  Prefolds, bamboo, hemp, microfibre or cotton?  Organic or not?  Regular thickness or extra thick?

Seriously overwhelming.

After some deliberation, I invested in mostly one diapering system.  Most people will tell you to buy a few diapers of many different styles and brands to find out what you like.  But I went basically with one system, and I haven't regretted it. 

I liked the the simplicity of an AI2 system, where you basically lay an absorbent liner inside a waterproof cover.  If the insert doesn't soak all the way through, you can re-use the cover.  But I also liked the pocket diapers because then there was a layer of soft fabric between the baby and the liner, and you could stuff more than one insert in there and it would all stay in place quite easily.  So, I went with AMP OS covers and hemp liners because they can be used either way, and they are made locally [in Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada].  Since then I've tried a few other brands and styles, but it's still my favourite cloth diapering system.

I also found some cloth diaper accessories to be essential – a diaper pail (I just bought a step garbage can), pailliners, wet bags, a diaper sprayer and cloth wipes.

Enter: twins.

 [photo by Theresa]

When my son was 17.5 months old, and no-where near potty-trained, I gave birth to twin girls.  With three kids in diapers (3 kids under 2), some might assume that I would just switch over to disposable diapers.  But, here's another great reason to use cloth diapers.

Saving. Money. Bigtime.

I mean, I have probably spent close to $1000 on my cloth diapers.  Maybe more.  I honestly haven't kept track.  I don't think it's much more than that though, even with all the accessories.  And I managed to mostly spend money that people gave us to spend on babies, some diapers were gifts and a few were second hand.  My stash includes 12 Small AMP covers, 24 OS AMP Pocket covers, 2 other pocket diapers, 1 handmade cover from my friend, 5 other one size pockets, 36 Regular Hemp inserts, 10 Triple layered Hemp inserts (for the toddler), 4 Bamboo inserts, 2 Cotton/Hemp inserts, 2 Microfibre inserts, 6 regular Hemp boosters and 8 triple layered Hemp boosters.  This is plenty enough diapers to have 3 kids in cloth diapers.  I wash a load of diapers once every 2 -3 days.

Now, I'll be honest, there are a couple of short-cuts that I take.  For one, I'm pretty sure I don't always change their diapers often enough.  With my toddler, it's pretty hard to convince him that a diaper change would be a good idea sometimes.  And other times, I'm just busy with all the OTHER children who need my attention RIGHT NOW.  I also use disposables at night.  I just haven't found a cloth diapering system for night time that stands up to my heavy wetters.  And believe me, I've tried everything.  And I actually don't just use a disposable: I also use a cloth cover over that.  Disposable soaks up insane amounts of pee, and cloth cover protects from potential poop and pee leaks.  Also, if I get behind on diaper laundry (which happens often enough, because I'm a just a bit BUSY), then I'll use a few extra disposables on the kids.  I try not to beat myself up about it.  I have three kids under two, after all.

  [photo by Theresa]

Oh yeah, so back to COST.  IF I was using disposable diapers full time, how much would it cost?  Well, a package of diapers costs $16 (the kind that I buy anyway).  With the three kids, we go through at least 2 packages of diapers per week (I discovered this when we went to Mexico for a week with all three).  So that's $32 per week (at least) times 52 weeks in a year.  That equals $1664 in one year.  And that doesn't include wipes. 

I've had three in cloth diapers for 6 months.  The investment I made on diapers has already almost paid for itself.  AND I haven't thrown thousands of disposables into landfills. 

Cloth diapering is SO FULL OF WIN!!!

I'm Theresa.  I'm the mother of an almost 2 year old boy and 6 month old twin girls.  My life is CRAZY, but awesome at the same time.  I blog regularly at “Confessions of a High-heel Wearing Hippie Mommy,” about Attachment and Gentle Parenting my three small children, living as “green” as possible, and trying to find balance in it all.  And my husband is actually pretty tolerant of my ways, and very happy I have the blog so I can stop talking his ear off about all this stuff I have on my mind.  Come join me on my journey!

You can also follow me on Twitter (@hhhippiemommy) and/or “like” my Facebook page.

Thank you so much for guest blogging for Tiny TreeHugger Theresa!

If you are interested in being a guest blogger here please contact us.

Winner announced!

Grapes and strawberries, this is what Tamara P said she would put in her snack bags if she won. And CONGRATS!! You have won a set of snack and sandwich bags from the giveaway ending yesterday. We have contacted you and look forward to seeing which fun print you choose.

PS More Sling Sisters sandwich bags arrived on Friday and will be updated this week!

Congrats again Tamara P.

Have a great week everyone! It is spring break here so we have all the boys at home this week in between pickups, meetings and shipping [& a few playdates and outings thrown in the mix too].

It's all about the SNACKS! & a Giveaway...

Lori from The Sling Sisters tells us how she does SNACKS

Let's be honest, we all love to snack!  Our reusable snack bags take it to a whole new level by making snacking more fun and yes, even fashionable.  I've tried to convince myself that only healthy foods fit in my snack bags, but in reality a handful of jelly beans in my Over the Rainbow snack bag makes me so happy!

I store our snack bags in a drawer in the kitchen and the kids love getting to choose their bag for the day.  One of my favourite things is that the kids get to choose their own prints and they love them so they are really good at knowing where they are. 

Here's how it works:

Step 1: find a snack - our bags are water resistant so you can use sliced up fruit/veggies or anything that has a little moisture (no soup or yogurt!)

Step 2: choose your favourite bag - the small bags hold 1 full cup or 1 apple, 2 mandarin oranges if they are peeled and separated, the large bags hold a big sandwich, bun, bagel, or a few muffins

Step 3: pack it or eat it!  Enjoy that your child will be able to open and close quietly all by himself (2yrs +)

Step 4: pull lining out and wipe or toss in the washer/dryer 

Repeat!

Thanks Lori! Now I feel like snacking...

Are you up for a giveaway? You have a chance to win a set of snack and sandwich bags!! 

Follow the instructions below and make sure you do what the entry says for it to count or else it will not count! Ends March 24th, 2012. Please contact us if you have any questions :)

Amber Experiment

Baltic amber is becoming more and more common in natural healing practices. It is for adults and children alike giving their body more immunities with the succinic acid that is absorbed by wearing the beads.

But how do you know you are getting the real thing and not a fake?
There are many tests you can perform to make sure what you have is the real thing. One method is salt water test.

The Salt Water Test

Aside from looking at your amber, the next least damaging test you can perform is to mix up some salt water (dissolve one part salt in two parts water) and throw the necklace in.  Real Baltic amber floats, fakes don’t.
-HealingHazel website

This evening I did just that! Dissolved 1/2 cup of salt in 1 cup of water.
I took off my 2nd youngest's amber necklace to test.
To be honest, I was REALLY unsure of what the result would be.
So I dropped it in the water...

& TA-DA! It went in and stayed on top! 
[excuse the amateur & out of focus photo...]


This is our proof that amber necklaces purchased from Tiny TreeHugger are the real deal :)

Buy it! 
The amber necklaces are $17.99 for children and $29.99 for adult. Bracelets also available.

For 10% off your purchase of amber or healing hazel use the code "amberhazel" [no quotations needed]. Good until 10pm CST Wednesday February 29th, 2012. Not to be combined with any other offers, not applicable to pending or previous orders.

Win it!
Every purchase of hazelwood necklaces, amber necklaces or bracelets will be entered into a draw for a full refund of their purchase of one necklace or bracelet, maximum value of $20. 1 purchased = 1 entry, 2 purchased = 2 entries. Good luck! End TOMORROW!!

Top Fan Form

Amber & Hazelwood Necklace Review & Special

Guest post by Melissa:

Amber Necklaces are a great way to provide your baby/child with natural pain relief from teething, growing pains and much more. Healing amber is great for adults too. Do you suffer from arthritis? headaches? muscle or joint pain? Then amber is a great natural way to treat these ailments. The necklaces Tiny TreeHugger sells are made of 100% Baltic Amber, which is fossilized tree resin. Amber has natural analgesic, anti-inflammatory and therapeutic properties. The active ingredient in amber is succinic acid which is released into the bloodstream of the wearer via the skin when the amber is heated by the warmth of the skin or the sun. Succinic acid has pain relieving properties and is therefore great for any of the listed aliments and much more.

[photo by Melissa, with her amber necklace]

I suffer from chronic headaches and only take medication when absolutely necessary, I thought I would try out wearing amber as my daughter has an amber necklace for her growth pains that has worked beautifully for her, you know what ever since I started wearing my amber necklace my headaches are gone, seriously gone. So this sweet necklace of mine hasn’t come off since I
purchased it. I highly recommend healing amber and think you should try it out for yourself big or small we can all benefit from some natural healing.

Tiny TreeHugger has graciously offered 10% off your purchase of any of her amber products. Go get one while they last. It’s so worth it. See below for the coupon code and how you can win one!

~Melissa
I’m Melissa, wife of Timothy and mother to one of the sweetest little people I know, Sydney Isabella
Blogging at Simply Sydney - Welcome to the musings of a first time attachment parent, and military wife. Come for the ride while I share pieces of myself and my families adventures with you my friends and family:)
I am teaching myself to knit. I love to {upcycle} things.
I am pretty granola(ish). I love to cook, and almost all things domestic.
I believe in a parenting style that is built on love, trust and a sense of attachment/ security. I believe in letting the people you love, know how much they are loved. I think we can make a difference in this world of ours, if we try hard enough.

Thanks for sharing your experience with the amber necklaces Melissa!
Our baby is now 7 months old and has had chronic teething since he was three months old. Just in the last week I had noticed the two bottom teeth trying to finally pop through, in the phase of acute teething. He has been wearing an amber necklace for many months now, but just this past week I put it around his ankle and now have a hazelwood necklace around his neck. The hazelwood is helpful with teething symptoms and works in tandem with the amber, but can also be used on it's own. Amber is known to work immediately where as hazelwood may take a few weeks to notice a difference. I am hoping we notice a difference with babyK and his teething is not so hard on him [and me!].

[babyK playing in his crib with his hazelwood necklace]

How hazelwood works:
The hazel tree is an alkaline wood when placed in contact with skin whose level of acidity is too high, will darken. The oxidizing process works to neutralize the acidity surplus and also will largely contribute to balance the organism. When the wood darkens, the hazelwood needs to be replaced. As with the amber, the hazelwood is not just for babies! There are great benefits for adults as well.

Buy it! 
Hazelwood necklaces are $18.99 [baby sizes only- if interested in adult sizes please use the contact form for pre-order], amber necklaces are $17.99 for children and $29.99 for adult. Bracelets also available.

For 10% off your purchase of amber or healing hazel use the code "amberhazel" [no quotations needed]. Good until 10pm CST Wednesday February 29th, 2012. EXTENDED to March1st at 12pmCST!! Not to be combined with any other offers, not applicable to pending or previous orders.

Win it!
Every purchase of hazelwood necklaces, amber necklaces or bracelets will be entered into a draw for a full refund of their purchase of one necklace or bracelet, maximum value of $20. 1 purchased = 1 entry, 2 purchased = 2 entries. Good luck!