Archive | January, 2012

Drool Monkey Review and Giveaway

January 31, 2012 By Melissa

Here at Sisters ‘N Cloth we love introducing you to new Work-At-Home moms. Today we are pleased to introduce you to Kamala and her company, Drool Monkey Organics.

Drool Monkey is a certified organic, heirloom-quality teething lovie that is also practical and versatile for mothers. While there are other lovies on the market there is nothing like Drool Monkey.

Drool Monkey was designed and created by founder, Kamala Corkin as an organic solution for her drooling baby. All babies like to put everything in their mouth. Kamala needed an organic and sanitary alternative to occupy her curious infant. After a few different prototypes, Drool Monkey was born! Drool Monkey proved to be a safe, organic solution for her baby: no toxic dyes, no chemical flame retardants, and no synthetic fabrics. And it’s versatile: a cloth teether, doll, rattle, burp cloth, and blankie all in one loveable monkey. It quickly became her daughter’s favorite “friend” and her greatest convenience.

It took us two years to finally custom-weave the “perfect” fabric. It’s thin yet strong, extremely soft, absorbent and will wash and dry beautifully. All of these qualities meant it was also the best thing to wipe your baby’s delicate skin or our sensitive noses. We made hankies with the traditional idea for them in mind…noses. We have now found that parents are using them for a variety of things:

* My favorite use with my newborn son was to lay it on the shoulder of anyone holding him. Then his face and mouth would be on the hanky (which I knew was clean and organic) and not their clothes.

*My husbands favorite use was to take the hanky, that had absorbed my scent, and use it to soothe our baby when I was away. He would just put it up to his nose and he would instantly calm.

*A sleep specialist in San Francisco is now using our hankies as an example of the ideal newborn sleep aid due to the size and breathability of the fabric.

*There is the adorable monkey face in the middle of the hanky to give kids a target to aim their coughs, sneezes and blows.

Close up of the brown hankie

Jeniffer’s Thoughts:

I met Kamela in September when I won the Drool Monkey teether (which made a nice Christmas present for Nehemiah!) It was a couple of weeks later that I was sent an email explaining that my teether had not been sent because the emails had been lost after the ABC Expo. When I did receive my teether, I was excited to find a Drool Monkey hankie added to it as a happy for being late. Since I knew I wasn’t going to use the teether, I fell in love with my hankie. So in love that I had to share it with you guys!

These hankies are absolutely adorable, and as a plus they are amazingly soft. I had a bad cold and used these hankies exclusively. My nose was much happier with them than it is when I use tissues, and I had a cute little monkey to keep me company. They are definitely a fixture in my purse now, too.

I had originally planned on using the hankie as a lovey for my daughter, but that didn’t pan out because I kept on using it. But it is the perfect size (8″ X 8″) for a small little travel lovey…if you can force yourself to not use it.

After multiple washings and crumplings, these stay true to size and hardly show any wear. And if you really want to impress people (or if you realize you had forgotten to take pictures the night before the review goes live…ahem…) the hankies iron back into crisp loveliness easily. These hankies are soft, durable, and absolutely precious. I think everyone should have a set!

Both the "girl" and "boy" or "gender neutral" hankies

Melissa’s Thoughts:

I have a thing for monkeys. They are just so cute! So I’m a bit in love with the adorable monkeys on the Drool Monkey hankies. They are the epitome of monkey cuteness! We also own the lovey, and its so precious, soft, and snuggly!

In addition to being cute, the Drool Monkey handkerchiefs are super soft. I’ve used them on my nose, on my kids’ noses, to wipe away tears, and to wash faces. I had never used a cloth handkerchief before, and I really wasn’t sure if it could be as soft as a kleenex. But it can!

The embroidery is so sweet, but I wasn’t sure it could hold up well to multiple washings. However, after extended use, the border stitching and monkey face still look great, with no signs of loosening threads.

I would love to have several more of these – the biggest issue we’ve run into is keeping our three handkerchiefs clean and keeping track of them!

Buy It:

You can purchase a set of three Drool Monkey organic hankies with either a boy or girl monkey for $20.00 on their website. They are also offering our readers a 10% discount with code “SistersNCloth” for a month, starting January 31st!

Win It:

One of our readers will win a 3-pack of the Organic Drool Monkey hankies! Enter using the Rafflecopter form below!

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Read full story · Comments { 2 } in Baby, Giveaways, Green Living, Reviews

Our Dairy-Free Monkey Birthday

January 30, 2012 By Melissa

Tuesday was my youngest son’s first birthday. We had his party Sunday afternoon. I wanted him to have a monkey themed cake, but I knew I would have to make it, since cake, frosting and all would have to be completely dairy-free (you can read more about why here). I am not a baker. I have made a few creative cakes for my kids in the past, but they are always a bit embarrassing! I also tend to stress a lot about what people think, so for several years we’ve purchased all our birthday cakes. I thought about just doing cupcakes, but hadn’t been able to make or find any monkey toppers, and I was pretty set on the monkey theme. I decided to just go for it and give it my best!

Last month I found and fell in love with a monkey cake on Pinterest from Smitten Kitchen. Not only was it adorable, the directions were very thorough and detailed. The cake recipe looked yummy too – banana, which was so appropriate for my monkey! To make the cake recipe dairy-free, I substituted Earth Balance buttery spread for butter, and applesauce for the sour cream/yogurt.

For the frosting, I used this recipe for dairy-free chocolate buttercream frosting. Honestly, they could just call it crack. Oh. my. word. There is still some in my fridge. But I don’t think it will be there long

My biggest mistake? Not starting this multi-step cake until 10pm the night before the party. I was up until 3:30am!! But I think it was worth it.

My 3 year old broke off a corner of the smash cake before I got a picture, which is why it looks a little lopsided. I'm not gonna lie, I almost cried!

Thanks to Pinterest inspiration, I used lime green and yellow for the decorations, which turned out great!

It was a great feeling knowing that even though Nehemiah can’t have dairy, he didn’t have to miss out on any part of the birthday experience. Watching him enjoy his cake was priceless!

"I think there's something on my chin..."

"This stuff feels weird."

Shoving it in!

If you have anyone with food allergies or sensitivities in your family, how have you managed special occasions? Have you had to learn to do things outside of your normal comfort zone?

Read full story · Comments { 5 } in Food sensitivities, Motherhood

Pregnancy Update: A Doctor’s Visit and 13 Weeks

January 27, 2012 By Jeniffer

Our Internet is down right now, and I’m spending some extra time with my nephews this morning. But I did want to take a minute to thank you for your prayers yesterday. Not only was there a happy, healthy baby, but everything looks great for both of us! I did find it funny that at almost 13 weeks my doctor said he’s about 90% sure that this baby is a girl. We’re definitely not buying pink just yet. When I get some more time, I’ll give a full update…including a belly pic! But for now, I’m enjoying some family time as well as the knowledge that Binky 2.0 is definitely on the way!

As promised, I’m updating this post with a more in-depth update. I shared Wednesday about how I have been so scared that I had miscarried and not known it, so I was more than a little relieved when a moving, kicking baby popped up on the ultrasound screen!

Squishy at *almost* 13 weeks!

I didn’t catch the heartbeat rate because I was so thankful that there was one to begin with. Seeing this sweet, wriggly baby rubbing its eyes nearly brought tears to my eyes, and I couldn’t help but see bits of Abby in this new one.

I also met my doctor during this appointment, and I’m excited because unlike my previous two doctors, he is open and talkative. I felt completely at ease, and I’m sure that I won’t have a problem discussing my birth plan later on. Though I did find it funny that he predicted this baby’s gender so early. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see on that one.

I also found out that I’ve lost 2 pounds in 3 weeks. I did have a stomach bug just over a week ago, which I’m sure contributed to it, but I also know that I need to eat more anyway. I’m not eating enough for both babies and myself right now, even though my milk supply is still stellar. Which means that I’m depleting my reserves for all three of us. Not exactly good news.

I’m definitely getting my energy back, though, which is nice. I’m also not queasy anymore. (Hooray!!) As far as cravings go, pepperoni pizza and salty chips are still big hits this time around, and fruit makes me happy. What’s really strange is that I’m not showing nearly as much as I did with Abby at this point. There is a baby bump there now, but I’m still in the “is she pregnant or just fat?” stage. I can’t wait until it’s more obvious!