Lauren's Hope Review

Lauren's Hope has fashionable medical ID jewelry that combine safety and style! The bracelets are beautiful and some even have matching earrings you can also get to go with them! They are coming out with over 40 different new styles coming soon! Their new Dazzle line of bracelets I love! Especially the Atlantis, Razzle Dazzle, Mardi Gras, and Peacock styles. I also love the: Elizabeth In Blue, Color Changing Mood Bead, Petite Petals, Emerald Splash, The Lily (reminds me of watermelon), To The Beach!, Glow Worm (Glows in the Dark) and Jumble!.

I won Momma Findings giveaway on her blog for the color changing mood bead bracelet with medical ID and she sent me a fiber optic sherbert bracelet to use with the medical ID because she was a little late getting it in the mail. Thanks Sara!

I had asthma as a child and I wish I had one of these! My 4 year old daughter, Tatiana, who will be 5 in January would benefit greatly by having a medical ID. She is totally blind (no light perception) and has: Panhypopituitarism, Diabetes Insipidus, Hypothyroidism, Seizure Disorder, Hypotonia, a g-tube, and developmental delays. She is also allergic to Betalactams, Penicillins, Cephalosporins, Promethazine and Latex. Since she is so medically involved I will probably have to have some help getting it engraved.

Lauren’s Hope donates a portion of their profit on the medical ID bracelets to The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Lauren's Hope is also having free standard shipping and handling on any bracelet over $20 with the coupon code: dazzle. Coupon code expires on November 7th, 2008.

Having a Whale of a Time

My favorite animals are whales, dolphins, and porpoises (cetaceans). Ever since I was a little girl I was fascinated with them. My first time at Sea World was in California when I was 4 years old and I remember how great I felt just watching them at the viewing window glide back and forth in the water so gracefully. In sixth grade my teacher used the Voyage of the Mimi series to teach us and it was filled with great scenes with them spotting whales. I started a newspaper and magazine clipping notebook on them and it was filled quickly since I lived in Alaska at the time. I started reading books on them and writing notes. Every time there was a school paper to write I would try to incorporate them in it if I could. I wanted to be a cetacean biologist (cetologist) or marine biologist. As a child my home teachers from church took me to a museum in Alaska that was featuring mechanical whales and dolphins in an exhibit.

As a teen I wanted one of those Shamu Cruisers to drive around :) I was into science fiction books like Animorphs and Deep Wizardry because of the whales and dolphins in them. I was introduced to a dolphin discussion forum called POD (Place of Dolphins) by one of my Animorphs role playing buddies and that is where I met my husband. He was in Ohio at the time and I was in Utah. We also chatted by messenger and a web camera with video chat. He came to visit me in person the day before my birthday in May of 1999 and in a whirlwind wedding we were married in June of that same year in his parents' backyard. Some say we were crazy, but we were in love and still are! He is the love of my life and I am so glad to have been introduced to POD because I don't know where I would be without him and my 4 wonderful children!

Before I moved to Oregon I went to Newport and went whale watching with my husband with Marine Discovery Tours. We also went to the Oregon Coast Aquarium and I wished we were there when Keiko was so that I could have seen him before they let him back in the wild. We also took a trip to Las Vegas, Nevada and went to the Mirage Hotel where Siegfried and Roy's Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat is. Generally that, shopping, a few shows, and my sister's family would be my only reason to visit there because my sister lives and works in Las Vegas now that she is married.

After three of our children were born we lived in Orlando, Florida for a while and spent a lot of time together at Sea World there. I envy the dolphin and whale trainers there because they get to spend their whole day with them and get paid for it. I miss Orlando a lot. We go back and visit every now and then. Oregon is fun too, but I miss living as close to the coast as I used to. Now the Sea World in Orlando has a great new water park called Aquatica and it looks like so much fun!! They have a water slide called the Dolphin Plunge that goes beneath the water and their Commerson's Dolphins swim right beside you while you are shooting through a see through tube. Maybe I will get to go when my children are a little older and I don't have a baby in tow although she probably would love the lazy river.

I saw this awesome dolphin submersible watercraft not to long ago. It is made by Innespace and they just came out with a new model that is a two seater called the Seabreacher! It is really something to go and check out. Boy if I had the money to get one I would in a heartbeat. It is able to perform sustained dives, huge jumps, barrel rolls, and many other amazing acrobatic tricks.

Dr. Bloom's Chewable Jewelry Review

Ok, I must admit I had only heard of Smart Mom Jewelry and had already bought their jewelry before I went searching for more great products for teething babies. I came across this website called Dr. Bloom's Chewable Jewels. They have a line of teething jewelry and keychains similar to Smart Mom Jewelry's. This jewelry line is conceptualized and manufactured by Dr. Helen Bloom Smith, a dentist and loving mom from Birmingham, Alabama.

These jewels are also made from plastic that is food-safe, non-toxic, phthalate, BPA, latex, lead, and PVC free. They are also dishwasher-friendly. Dr. Bloom's Chewable Jewels are made of food grade silicone that has FDA approved materials and colorings. Not only did Dr. Bloom make sure the material and colorings on her products were safe for your baby, she made sure the product was the perfect thickness/hardness. If a product is too hard it can damage the tooth buds. She apparently has done her research to find the perfect durometer for a teething baby. She should know her stuff, being a dentist and all! The pendants have a latex free cording that has elasticity to allow for stretching instead of the breakaway clasp. The jewels for the necklaces come in a rectangle pendant, circle pendant, or hexagon pendant. They also carry bracelets and keychains.

I was sent a Emerald Bracelet and Circle Slide Necklace for free from Dr. Bloom to test and review.

They are giving $1 to the Starlight Children's Foundation for every Plum jewelry item sold from their website.