They are stylish and fun to wear, but is fashion the real reason to wear sunglasses?  I’ve written before about my temporary near-blindness in one eye due to a corneal ulcer – because of that, my eye is very sensitive to light.  You’ll frequently see me wearing sunglasses on my eyes outside or on my head inside, and now that it’s spring, you should be wearing your sunglasses too.  As part of my paid ambassadorship with VSP, I had the opportunity to interview Dr. Satpal S. Multani is a VSP Vision Care optometrist at Inland Vision Center in San Bernardino, CA.

Why Wear Sunglasses?  An interview with Dr. Satpal D Multani.

Are sunglasses just for comfort and style?

Sunglasses are for comfort and style, but the most important reason is to protect the eyes. The sun can cause both visual discomfort due to the intensity of the light and biological damage from UV radiation; therefore, the sunglasses serve two purposes:

• They provide comfort from the brightness of the sunlight, especially if one is driving say on the freeway in the evening.
• To filter out the harmful UV light from the sun’s rays which are invisible to the human eye but cause considerable damage to the ocular tissues.

What medical purposes do sunglasses serve?

The UV component of sunlight is invisible to the human eye and yet it can cause considerable damage to the soft ocular tissues. They can cause eye disease such as cataracts, macular degeneration and skin cancers. The sunglasses that filter out these harmful UV rays—those labeled with a 100% UVA/UVB sticker or tag—are the major medical benefit of the sunglasses.

Are there better types of sunglasses (i.e., polarized)?

There are three types of sunglass lenses: tinted, photochromic (light sensitive) and polarized.

• Tinted lenses will reduce the amount of light reaching the eye. Most tinted lenses do not filter out the UV radiation unless they specifically say so. Note, wearing tinted lenses that do not have UV protection can cause even more harm because your eye dilate allowing more radiation to enter.
• Photochromic lenses change in color with light, turning dark outdoors and clear indoors. These are great for those who go in and out a lot and don’t want to have to switch from glasses to sunglasses. These lenses provide UV protection.
• Polarized lenses are most effective in reducing the glare one gets from very bright surfaces like concrete roads, water, sand, white colored cars, etc. They look very similar to the tinted lenses but are far more superior as sunglasses.

Does style matter?

It’s the lenses that are most important part of the sunglasses – the style of the frame is completely up to the person wearing them.

Anything else?

Far too many people have just one pair of prescription eyeglasses to serve all purposes. My question to them is: Do you only have one pair of shoes that serves all your needs? So why only one pair of prescription eyeglasses?

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Since it’s a great idea to wear sunglasses, we might as well wear a stylish pair.  The photo collage above showcases some of the popular designs this year.  Big sunglasses are still in this year, as are bright colors and aviator-style frames.

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For a chance to win $2,500 toward your next trip and fabulous designer sunglasses, enter the VSP “Get Set to Jet Set” Sweepstakes: http://a.pgtb.me/3Lg8zr.  This post is sponsored by VSP and all opinions are my own.

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KeVita Sparkling Probiotic Drink Review

KeVita, which I picked up at Whole Foods, offers several flavors including coconut, mango coconut, mojito, pomegranate, lemon ginger, and daily cleanse lemon cayenne.  All are certified organic, non-GMO, non-dairy, vegan, and gluten free.  Two of the flavors are sweetened with cane juice and the rest are sweetened with stevia.

I’m a fan of carbonated water, so I figured I’d love these sparkling drinks, and I was right.  I tried several of the flavors, and while my favorite was the mojito (non-alcoholic), I liked all of them.  Drinking them is a nice, easy way to get probiotics into my diet – and they taste great!

I didn’t try the daily cleanse, but I definitely want to.  I’ve tried lemon cayenne homemade drinks before and they didn’t taste great, but I’m sure KeVita has figured out a way to make it more palatable.

You can learn more about KeVita Sparkling Probiotic Drink on their website.

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I am a huge fan of herbal remedies and supplements.  I regularly take vitamins and herbal supplements, and have found that taking the right ones can really make a big difference in my health and well being. I was really excited to learn more about Erba Vita, a European company that offers a wide array of herbal remedies.

A few weeks ago, I had the chance to help co-host and attend an event sponsored by Erba Vita, which has recently introduced their products to the US market.  I learned about the whole product line, and took home a few product samples to try out at home.  They offer several different lines, including a Propolis line, a kids’ line, a digestive line, a relax line, a woman’s health line, and an immune line.  Thankfully, we haven’t been sick since I received the samples, but I did try out a few products from the relax, woman’s health, and digestive lines.  Here are my favorites:

Herbal Remedies from Erba Vita

The Detox is one of my favorite products.  It comes in a little plastic cap that can easily be placed over a water bottle.  I drink carbonated bottled water, so I just end up popping the herbs directly into a cup of water.  It supports the gentle elimination of toxins in the body, and is meant to be consumed throughout the day.

I also really like the Feel Full Snack Time, which is an appetite suppressant that really works.  You just spray a few drops under the tongue and it works pretty quickly.  There’s also a Feel Full Meal Time, which comes in a pill form – I didn’t get a sample of that but I do plan to purchase it to try it out.

Finally, I also really like the Happy Mood caplets, which are a mild herbal remedy to help you relax and maintain a happy mood.  They really do work – I’ll be keeping these in my supplement cabinet!

Erba Vita does offer Propolis products, which is supposed to be great for upper respiratory health, but since we haven’t sick, I didn’t get the chance to try them.

To learn more about Erba Vita, visit their website.

Want to try some Erba Vita products for yourself?  I have a kit of three products for one Mom’s Favorite Stuff reader.  You’ll receive the No Stress, the Detox, and the Nail Care herbal remedies.  Enter via the Rafflecopter.  US Winners Only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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#momishere

Disclosure: I received a fun kit from Sprout with inspiration for a family picture.  But we ended up snapping this one on the road on Mother’s Day.

I’ve written before about how I never get in the picture – I always hate how I look in photos and I’m usually the one with the camera.  So I was especially thrilled to hear about Sprout’s new Mom is Here initiative.  Sprout wants to inspire mom to get in the picture with her kids, which I think is a fabulous idea.  My kids are growing up so quickly, and I love having pictures of me with them.

On Mother’s Day, which I celebrated at Walt Disney World, I made sure that I got a picture with my kids. Daddy’s pictures never come out as good as mine do, but I’m glad I’m in the picture.

To participate in the Mom Is Here campaign, you can either post your picture on Instagram with the hashtag #momishere, or upload it to the Mom Is Here Facebook page.  There are also some great prizes.

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I couldn’t control my excitement when I received my invitation to the 2013 Disney Social Media Moms Celebration.  I’d been the past two years and it was the highlight of each year.  Although my family is blessed to have traveled to Walt Disney World frequently, the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration is something special.  We just returned late Sunday night, and once again we had an amazing experience.

Disney Social Media Moms Celebration 2013

Our experience started right at check-in, when we were upgraded to a tower room (I’d expected and would have been totally happy with a garden wing room) at the Contemporary Resort.  We checked in with the conference, popped into our room to quickly change into shorts, and headed down to visit Tigger and learn about the new Winnie the Pooh Wonder and Wander app.

We spent a few hours at the Magic Kingdom before getting ready for the welcome reception and dinner at Epcot.  Our surprise guest at the reception was Chris Powell from Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition, who encouraged us to make promises to ourselves about fitness and well being, and then use the same personal integrity we use for others in our fitness quest.  It made a big impact on me.  At the dinner, my children loved visiting with some of the hero characters like Wreck-It Ralph and Vanellope von Schweetz, and they recorded a fun little video that was shown at the Mother’s Day breakfast on Sunday.  After dinner (which was sponsored by the Magic of Healthy Living), we headed to our viewing location for a dessert party and Illuminations: Reflections of Earth.

Friday morning, I got up at the bright and early hour of 5am to complete a 2 mile run with runDisney and the Biggest Loser’s Ali Vincent.  I hadn’t run 2 miles in a while, but we used the Jeff Galloway run/walk method and I probably could have done 5 miles.  Although 5am was a tough wake up call (especially after waking up at 4am the day before for our flight), I’m so glad I did the run because I felt great for the rest of the day.

Friday was our conference day, so I headed to the conference room while my husband took the kids to Hollywood Studios.  I enjoyed the conference, and always love connecting with the bloggers that I talk to everyday on social media.

On Friday night, we went to Hollywood Studios for a Red Carpet Social on the Lights, Motor, Action set.  The kids had their caricatures done and my daughter even had the chance to wear the DJ’s headphones for a bit and listen to the music.  We also watched Gary jump from atop one of the buildings – I’m surprised my daughter didn’t want to follow him.

Saturday morning was a special treat – the opportunity to attend Merida’s coronation ceremony at the Magic Kingdom.  She was joined by Olympic Gold Medalist Gabby Douglas as well as the rest of the Disney Princesses.  Merida’s my daughter’s favorite, so she especially enjoyed this.

We spent much of Saturday at the Magic Kingdom again, before going back to the hotel for lunch.  Then, we boarded buses to see Disney/Pixar’s newest film, Monsters University.  All I can say is that it was absolutely worth taking a few hours out of our day – and definitely worth seeing!  The whole family loved it.  Then, we went right to our last dinner, again hosted by the Magic of Healthy Living, at Fantasia Garden’s Mini Golf course.  The entertainment was my kids’ favorite radio station – Radio Disney, so they really loved it.

On Sunday morning, we said goodbye to the conference at a lovely Mother’s Day breakfast, where we were treated to a surprise keynote speaker – Soleil Moon Frye.  Then, we headed out to Epcot for an afternoon of fun before flying back home in the evening.

It was a jam-packed four days, but I can’t believe it’s over.  Next year’s Disney Social Media Moms Celebration will take place at Disneyland, and the bloggers invited will have a great time.  I can only imagine the logistics involved in planning an event of this scale, but this one went off without a hitch.  Leanne, Gary, Jen, Maria, and everyone else involved obviously worked tirelessly before and during (and I’m sure after) the celebration, and my family owes them a huge thank you.  We had a fabulous time.

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My daughter is eight now, and I knew that we needed to move beyond her using body soap for her face.  However, since I’ve got acne-prone skin and use pretty strong cleansers, I didn’t think it was a great idea for her to use my products.  She needed something that works for kids’ skin.  So, when I got the opportunity to review child skin care products from TooFruit, I thought it would be the perfect line for my daughter’s skin.

Child Skin Care Products from TooFruit

We received several products from TooFruit – the foam cleanser, the spray cleanser, the moisturizer, and the lip balm.  My daughter was very excited about having her very own skin care products.  The foam cleanser is perfect as an everyday cleanser – it’s like a mousse and cleanses without drying.  My daughter now uses this nightly, and it’s a great way to remove the sweat and dirt she gets on her face after playing softball.  The spray cleanser is perfect to put in the fridge and use as a refresher – especially as we head into the warmer weather.

My daughter’s skin isn’t too dry, so she doesn’t need a daily moisturizer.  However, after a few trips to Florida, she’s had a bit of peeling, so this moisturizer worked great in alleviating the peeling.  She does, however, still need a lip balm daily, and she loves the taste of this one – it’s more kid-friendly than my minty lip balms.

For a very limited time, Totsy is offering a sale on TooFruit products, so it’s the perfect way to check out the line first hand at a great price. If you need an invitation to Totsy.com, click on the link.  You can learn about the line on the TooFruit website.

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Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book for review and the link is an affiliate link.

It’s amazing to think how much the world has changed from when we were kids.  I got my first email address when I was a freshman in college, but I had no one to email – until my junior year, when everyone else started getting email addresses.  Now my 8-year old daughter is already asking for a cell phone and email address, and while I’m certainly not giving in to her, I know the time will come soon enough.  My top concern with all of these digital tools is internet safety for kids – I know there’s a lot of cause for concern.  So, for any family concerned with internet safety for kids, I’d recommend Raising Digital Families for Dummies by Amy Lupold Bair from Resourceful Mommy.

Raising Digital Families features information about the latest digital tools that kids are using, and also helps with advice on how to set a digital family policy (and yes, you need one). It’s great for families with young kids too – it’ll help you understand the various tools that kids use and will get you ready for when they get older.  There’s also a section for kids who want to start a blog – as a mom blogger, I know that my daughter is already counting the days until she has her own blog, so this is especially important for me.

Like most for Dummies books, you can pretty easily skip around in the book too, if you are especially interested in one particular section (although I do recommend reading the whole book through the first time).

You can purchase Raising Digital Families For Dummies online at Amazon.com.  It’s available as a paperback book, or also as a Kindle book.

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Disclosure: I received a package of baked goods from Rosie’s – all opinions are my own.

Mother’s Day is this Sunday, and if you haven’t picked up something for the mom, grandmother, aunt, or godmother in your life, Rosie’s Bakery in Boston has you covered.  They are offering some delicious goodies for Mother’s Day, including those adorable cookies pictured here (which come packaged in that super cute little plastic pink purse).

Mother’s Day items include:

• Cookies
• Fudge swirl brownies
• Raspberry crumb bars
• Walnut dream bars
• Butter cookies
• Apricot rugalah
• Glazed sugar cookies
• Snow queen cupcake- (golden butter cake filled with raspberry centers and frosted in vanilla butter cream)

While I loved the cookies and cupcake, my favorite was the raspberry crumb bar which

Rosie’s has locations in South Station, Chestnut Hill, Porter Square, and Inman Square.  Items can be preordered – if you are thinking about ordering a cake or something special, definitely order in advance.  You can learn more about Rosie’s on their website.

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Disclosure: This is a sponsored giveaway.

Last week, I posted the trailer to the brand new movie from the creators of Ice Age and Rio.  My kids are so excited for it – they’ve been seeing commercials online and watched the trailer.

If your kids are looking forward to seeing EPIC, I have a great EPIC movie giveaway.  It includes the following:

One (1) winner will receive:
·         $25 Visa card to see the film
·         Mub Slug Hat
·         Kids Planting Set

Here’s more information about the movie.

The 3D CG adventure comedy hits theaters on May 24! From the creators of ICE AGE and RIO, EPIC tells the story of an ongoing battle between the forces of good, who keep the natural world alive, and the forces of evil, who wish to destroy it. When a teenage girl finds herself magically transported into this secret universe, she teams up with an elite band of warriors and a crew of comical, larger-than-life figures, to save their world…and ours.

To learn more about the movie, check out these links:

Like Epic on Facebook
Follow @EpicTheMovie on Twitter #EpicTheMovie
Watch Epic videos on YouTube
Follow Epic on Instagram

Enter via the Rafflecopter.  US Residents Only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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When I quit my job to stay home with my kids (who were then preschoolers), I had great plans to keep them entertained all day long.  I didn’t want to turn the television on for too long during the day.  I quit during the summer, so I planned to spend much of the days playing with them outside, but of course it rained steadily for the entire first week I was home.  We did some fun activities on the first day, but by the end of the week I couldn’t resist turning on the television.  It definitely isn’t always easy to find good preschool activities for children that are both engaging and educational.

Preschool Activities for Children with KinderKits

A brand-new company, founded by six Harvard Business School students, has come up with a great solution – KinderKits.  These kits, which offer lots of great activities for children, are available for individual purchase (with a subscription option coming soon).  The activities are meant for ages 3+ (some with adult supervision), and generally keep kids busy for 10-20 minutes per activity (they can be played multiple times).

Parent feedback on the kits has been excellent.  The activities are all created by educators and tested with children.  Their goal is to get kids to learn, engage, and play – three things that most parents look for when they search for activities for children.

Right now, there are two KinderKits available – the Farm Animals KinderKit pictured above and a Spring Fling KinderKit.  There is also a Transportation themed KinderKit coming soon – that’s one I know my son would have loved.  They are also planning to offer a subscription service soon, which will be great for families.

To learn more about KinderKits, visit their website, or visit their Facebook page.

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