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Warmies is line of fully heatable aromatherapy stuffed animals and wellness items. All Warmies products contain real dried French lavender sourced from local growers in Provence, France, and all-natural grain filling to provide the perfect weight and sensory experience.

They are super cute gifts for any occasion but are also helpful for easing anxiety and help promote better sleep (back to school is around the corner!). They are fully microwavable incredibly comfy and safe for all ages. Just heat in the microwave for 60 seconds and enjoy up to an hour of warmth (even longer when they are snuggled under the covers!).

They are on Amazon and have their own affiliate program as well.  These make unique baby shower gifts too! https://warmies.com/collections/my-first.

We loved them so much they are offering a discount code for CT Kids and Family followers!!

Discount code for 15% off - CTFAMILY_15 for your readers 

Blitz Champz, a fun and educational football-themed card game for kids 7 and up that blends the excitement of football with critical math skills.  The game has been adopted by schools and educational programs, and has been utilized by some NFL teams and NFL FLAG as a fun and effective learning tool for kids. The game features a diverse lineup of male and female players, and is easy to learn in two minutes or less.

Blitz Champz is a fun and competitive card game that teaches and tests football knowledge, strategy, and critical math skills. Created by Adrienne Smith, Boston Renegades Wide Receiver, football advocate and spokesperson, and entrepreneur, Blitz Champz emphasizes the importance of learning critical math skills while having fun.

The game features 100 vibrantly-illustrated playing cards characterizing a diverse lineup of male and female players. A selected product at Walmart’s 2018 Annual Open Call Event, and a 2017 National Parenting Product Awards (NAAPA) winner, Blitz Champz is a simple way to bring the magic of football, math skills and fun into kids’ lives, and into schools, homes and communities. Today, Adrienne Smith is one of the best-performing wide receivers in women’s football history, having won two gold medals and five national championships in women’s tackle football. This year, the veteran wide receiver also set a new all-time record for receiving yards (5,093) in the Women’s Football Alliance (WFA).

The New England Patriots have said of Adrienne, “She cannot be stopped,” and the Times Union has called her “The face of women in football.”

Finally, a paci that soothes babies and parents too. The PhysioForma™ Soft Silicone Orthodontic Pacifier is backed by science to actively support breathing and oral development.

All PhysioForma™ pacifiers are designed to help position baby’s tongue forward to maintain an open airway. This exclusive nipple design was developed, tested, and approved in partnership with an advisory panel of leading neonatologists, pediatricians, and orthodontists. The one-piece PhysioForma™ Soft Silicone pacifiers also adhere to the guidelines of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Baby approved too. Accepted by 9 out of 10 babies.

For baby’s oral development, the orthodontic nipple guides tongue placement to evenly distribute pressure across the palate. The narrow base allows for optimal lip closure, supporting proper development of the palate and teeth.

For baby’s comfort, the nipple is an extra-soft silicone with a satin-textured finish to help keep the paci in baby’s mouth for uninterrupted soothing. The soft shield of this paci is comfortable and breathable. Ventilation holes promote air circulation, helping to reduce moisture buildup on baby’s soft, sensitive skin. The soft handle of this one-piece construction pacifier is big enough for baby to grab and easy to attach to a cute paci holder.

Available in three sizes: 0-6m, 6-16m, and 16-24m. Reusable, sterilizing carry case included.

Make newborn life easier with the award-winning Boppy® Original Feeding & Infant Support Pillow. Can be used for bottle feeding, propping, tummy time, sitting, and breastfeeding. It offers a variety of cozy soft slipcovers, including Luxe, Organic Cotton, Classic Plus, and Classic fabric Washing is also easy with both pillow and slipcover are machine washable. Available at Target, Buy Buy Baby, Baby List, Walmart, Amazon and more! Price: $29.99

LaJeanell’s Men’s Duo skincare product set featuring its Daily Sunscreen Skin Protective and  Simply Thirst Moisturizer Crème. LaJeanell is an indie clean beauty health and wellness skincare and makeup brand made in the USA, which was launched during the height of the pandemic by former model and beauty expert Shirley Powell.

LaJeanell features both gender-inclusive skincare and cosmetics, safe for sensitive skin, and formulated with quality, high-tech ingredients. The brand features products that are dual purpose, healthy, vegan and sustainable resulting in a youthful appearance.

“If you’ve ever wanted to achieve attractive and glowing skin, LaJeanell’s Duo Regimen is ideal as the anti-aging skin care treatment has topical antioxidants that offer photo-protection and block oxidation and inflammation,” Shirley advises.

No need to overcomplicate a man’s grooming routine. “It’s never too early or too late to nourish and protect your skin,” according to Shirley. “Our men’s duo is paired together for an easy, effective daily routine, designed to keep you looking youthful.” 

Men’s Duo Products:

Daily Sunscreen Skin Protective: LaJeanell Sunscreen Lotion provides broad spectrum SPF 55 protection in a long-wearing formula. It combines the unique barrier-forming properties of Zinc Oxide along with Octinoxate for additional UVA/UVB protection. 

Simply Thirst Moisturizer Crème: LaJeanell's unique Hyaluronic Crème effectively reduces the appearance of hyperpigmentation and dark spots, evens skin tone and improves complexion, normalizes melanin production and deeply moisturizes the skin.

Shop the Men’s Duo: Boy De LaJeanell Duo | Hydrate and Protect Skin | LaJeanell

“Our quality makeup products are great for sensitive skin as they are made with organic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and natural healing properties,” Shirley says. “Our cosmetic line is made with the highest quality ingredients, and are vegan, cruelty-free, fragrance and preservative free. Each product is free of synthetics, parabens, formaldehyde and phthalates.”

About Shirley Powell & LaJeanell: LaJeanell’s founder, Shirley Powell, brings more than 40 years of business experience. She represented two high-end luxury cosmetics companies. As an entrepreneur and model, she found herself searching for quality makeup that was health conscious. As a result, she found the need to create a line that provided a solution to the problem. Shirley founded LaJeanell to provide quality skincare solutions. It resulted in a great selection of natural and organic makeup. Her vision was to include anti-aging components to the product line. Thus, giving users a younger look without going under the scalpel. LaJeanell offers a 30-day money-back guarantee for product satisfaction. https://www.lajeanell.com/

The first kids’ music/story player with Spotify music and audio book streaming featuring Jooki’s patented NFC-enabled ToyTouch® Technology that lets kids use figurines or tokens to operate Jooki with no screens or parent supervision needed. Guided by Montessori education principles, the award-winning Jooki connects through WiFi and Bluetooth, helping parents empower their children to develop creativity and emotional awareness through their own access to a wide range of pre-selected songs, music, and stories. Now lower cost, faster, and lighter, Jooki is magic at a kid’s fingertips!

Jooki info:

Price: $112.99

Buy at: https://jooki.rocks/Most_popular

Ages: 3 and up. 

Website: www.jooki.rocks

Connecticut families now have access to a brand new donation site for their new and gently used children’s books.

Who

Meet Hindi’s Libraries, the Long Island-based nonprofit that ships children’s books to families in need around the world. Hindi’s Libraries was founded in honor of Dr. Hindi Krinsky, a beloved educator and mother who passed away due to Crohn’s disease in 2018. Since then, Hindi’s Libraries has donated over 275,000 [1] [2] books to underserved communities across all 50 states, India, Israel, Africa, Haiti and Puerto Rico.

Pina Basone, aka Pina Bird, is the incredible children’s author bringing Hindi’s Libraries to Connecticut! Pina’s published works include “Chicken Livers and Artichokes,” “Fred the Super Friend,” and “Fred the Super Saves the Mangroves.”

What

All new and gently loved children’s and young adult books donated will be accepted and rehomed through Hindi’s Libraries.

When and Where

The new Hindi’s Libraries donation site will be housed by Coldwell Banker Realty. Donation bins will be available 24/7 as an outdoor book box has been placed right outside the door when the office is closed.

Address:

1086 Long Ridge Rd.

Stamford, CT 06903

Why

In low income neighborhoods, the ratio of books to children is 1:300- that’s ONE book shared by THREE HUNDRED children. With your help, Hindi’s Libraries hopes to build a better tomorrow by offering children the opportunity to learn and grow through reading.

To learn more about Hindi’s Libraries and how you can help, visit www.hindislibraries.org or send a message to info@hindislibraries.org. Hindi’s Libraries is also @hindislibraries on all social media platforms and would love to hear from you!

To learn more about Pina Basone and her inspiring books, visit www.pinabirdbooks.com. 

Happy New Year! It’s a time of big resolutions and new beginnings. It's also the perfect opportunity to get better at taking care of our mental health. Let's talk about three ways to start on the right foot this year by prioritizing your mental health!

No. 1: Put Boundaries in Place
Boundaries help protect you from feeling taken advantage of or disrespected. Establishing limitations protects your mental health by giving you a sense of control over your life. Therefore, learning to say “no” is a valuable life skill. It helps you maintain self-worth by empowering you to make choices that align with your values. When we say “yes” to every request, we're more likely to feel overwhelmed and stressed out. By saying “no” mindfully with conviction and respect, you make time for the things that matter without overwhelming guilt and negativity.

When creating emotional boundaries, use your personal values as a guide. Recognize that these limits vary and can be flexible, depending on the situation and the people involved. Set aside social expectations and listen to yourself. Conserve your emotional energy to prevent resentment.

No. 2: Increase Self-Awareness
Increasing self-awareness means being more conscious of your thoughts, feelings and behaviors. When you're more self-aware, you can catch early signs of stress or anxiety and address them before they become more significant problems.

One way to be more self-aware is to keep a journal. This can help you track your moods, symptoms and triggers. It can also be a place to reflect on your daily life. Journaling helps keep you in perspective as it boosts your self-identity and fosters self-growth.

No. 3: See a Counselor or Therapist
As you become more self-aware, you start to recognize issues that reduce your quality of life. It may be a problem that interferes with your life each day or something that causes so much shame or embarrassment that you make it a point to avoid others. These issues may have made you develop unhealthy habits or make life changes that have negatively impacted your personal and professional relationships.

Therapy can help with anxiety, depression, grief and loss, life transitions, family dynamics, parenting support and more. Spending time with a professional allows you to explore your feelings and unresolved experiences without judgment. Together, you can identify the obstacles, insecurities, and harmful habits keeping you from achieving optimal mental health. 

No matter what steps you choose to take this year regarding your mental health, know that you're not alone. Millions of people struggle with the same issues, and support is available. At Communicare, we offer various services for adults and children who are having issues related to mental health or emotional concerns.

By Communicare

This New Year, when making resolutions with your kids, consider making bath time a learning experience with Dabble & Dollop, the only mixable children’s bath brand. Just think STEM  activity in the tub! No messes or clean up required. Perfect for your dabbling scientist or next master chef or for a bath-adverse child.

“Though the mixing process may seem simple, to a child it is pure magic! They love to ‘innovate’ and create new textures and scents,” believes brand Founder & CEO Stephanie Leshney. “We love to inspire creativity and a love of science.”

It's a Shampoo! It's a Body Wash! It's a Bubble Bath! Dabble & Dollop's 3-in-1 Mixables feature fresh, authentic scents designed to be mixed, kids can customize their own sudsy creations each and every night. Choose from any of its 7 amazing aromas and textures. Use alone or get Creatively Clean and mix them up to create over 125 unique bathing combinations!

“We allow children a safe opportunity to mix scents and textures together to create their own unique concoctions. For example, children can take a dabble (pump) of Strawberry and a dollop (pump) of Vanilla and make a strawberry shortcake bath. Or, a dabble of Tangerine and a Dabble of Lemon for a Citrus Body Wash,” Stephanie explains. “With seven scents and our Cherry on Top Conditioner, there are over 125 unique opportunities for children to customize – the creation of the bubble bath, the bodywash and the shampoo.”

Dabble & Dollops’ Original Bubble Box, a great starter set for kids, features Strawberry, Tangerine and Vanilla, and comes with a new recipe booklet, and a silicone bowl to inspire the mixing. The booklet features nearly a dozen recipes and also has space for kids to create and note their own creations. The brand’s Rainbow of Bubbles, featuring all seven 3-in-1 scents, is the ultimate bath experience for kids. 

“The real magic happens when children create their own recipes whether in our custom bowl or in the palms of their hands,” Stephanie adds.

Dabble & Dollops 3-in-1 mixables were its first product and the line is made with sustainable USA-sourced plant-based ingredients, vegan, Certified Tear-Free, dermatologist-tested ultra-mild, and Leaping Bunny Certified Cruelty-Free.  All of the brand’s products are vegan, gluten-free and cruelty-free. Additionally, Dabble & Dollop’s bath bombs are all natural, gluten-free, artificial dye-free and made in California.

“Our 3-in-1 products feature our SmartScent™ technology. These scents are an optimized blend of natural oils and nature-identical formulated to the strictest EU-standards for purity.,” Stephanie describes. “Our scents were tested to be highly stable and non-irritating (HRIPT testing), and were formulated according to the European Union’s directive and free of known allergens.”

Chicco has launched the first hybrid bottle made available for parents that combines the wellness benefits of pure glass and the convenience of plastic (free of BPA, BPS, PVC and Phthalates). The ChiccoDUO has an inner layer of pure glass with the outer layer plastic to keep it super lightweight and breakproof! In a nutshell, the outside plastic keeps the bottle from getting damaged if it is dropped, but the inside glass ensures your baby’s food stays non-toxic. This game changer bottle has an intuitive latch nipple so there is less air ingestion for babies and helps with colic.