When our son was almost a year old, he choked on a Goldfish cracker. Before I knew what I was doing, I had pulled him out of the highchair, had flung him, facing down, onto my forearm, and began to hit his back between the shoulder blades. After two times, the cracker flew out onto the floor, and he begin to cry.

At that moment, more than at any other, I was grateful that my husband and I took a choking aid/CPR class before G was born. I believe that what I learned there helped me know what to do on that scary afternoon.

Yet what if I don’t always react so quickly? What if I panic and freeze, not knowing what to do? I don’t like to dwell on “what ifs,” but I do believe that preparation and know-how is important, should an emergency spring up.

I’m thrilled to tell you today about a first aid kit that takes most of the guesswork out of those crucial situations: Intelligent First Aid. Intelligent First Aid is the most comprehensive, all-inclusive, and smart first aid kit I’ve found. Intelligent First Aid’s Talking First Aid kit not only includes cue cards with detailed drawings and instructions to let you know what to do with every type of injury or occurrence, but it also has recorded instructions which you can play at will to talk you through the actions required.

The Intelligent First Aid Talking First Aid kit includes talking care packs (including talking cue cards and medical supply packs) for all of the following injuries/conditions:

- Breathing/CPR
- Bleeding
- Shock
- Head & Spine Injuries
- Bone Injuries
- Eye Injuries
- Burns
- Bites & Stings

Also included is a basics care packet (with basic medical supplies), a fully illustrated instruction manual, a quick-start guide (also with narration), and a positionable flashlight, all housed within a soft-sided, zip-closure case with a handle and detachable strap. It’s an easy first aid kit to tote around as you go, and excellent for travel.

Here’s my demonstration of what is included within the Talking First Aid kit, as well as a sample of the narration you’ll hear on the cue cards:

Intelligent First Aid review from Megret on Vimeo.

You can order Intelligent First Aid kits directly via their online store. There are several other kits available, including a Safe at Home kit and workplace (On the Job) kits.

***And right now, Intelligent First Aid is running a winter special: 25% off everything on their site with the promotional code WINTER25 used at checkout.***

Win it! Thanks to the generous folks at Intelligent First Aid, one of you will win a Talking First Aid kit, a $149.99 value! To enter to win, just comment below with another one of their kits you’d like to have around or give to someone…or tell me about an experience you had where rapid first aid was required…..OR tell me something you read/learned from their website. I’ll close the contest next Sunday, February 7th, 2010 at 11pm EST. Sorry; US entries only. Good luck!

CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.

Congrats to the winner, commenter #6, Melissa, who said, “I think this would be wonderful for us because we have a swimming pool. It would be nice to keep in handy in case we ever did need to do CPR! (but praying to God that we never will).”
Thanks, everyone, for participating!

I was recently, along with 199 other bloggers, selected to become a Soft Scrub Captain. That means that I’ll be able to test first up and coming Soft Scrub products and share my opinions about them with you guys!

This past week, I was sent a bottle of Soft Scrub Total Bath & Bowl Cleaner to try out in our home. It was bathroom cleaning day, anyway, so it got a workout right away!

Right away I noticed that there was a flip-tab that lets you change from spray to foam. No more squinting to read the nozzle tip to know which way to rotate it for each cleaning task!

Soft Scrub Total Bath & Bowl can clean nearly every surface in your bathroom. It worked beautifully at removing soap scum from our ceramic and stone tiled tub walls, polishing the hardware, and cleaning the toilet. The bottle can spray upside down, which means that covering the toughest places to reach is a snap!

What I liked most? Honestly? The smell. The scent is clean and fresh — almost resembling aftershave or cologne. No harsh fumes that left my nose burning, either…just a pleasant, lingering smell. And when I say lingering, I mean lingering. Two and three hours after I’d cleaned, I could still catch a whiff of the clean scent when I walked into our bathrooms. Now that’s what I call deodorizing!

You can look for Soft Scrub Total Bath & Bowl at your local discount store or supermarket — it will hit the shelves any day now!

Win it! Courtesy of Soft Scrub and MomSelect, I have a coupon for one FREE Soft Scrub Total Bath & Bowl Cleaner OR Soft Scrub Total Kitchen Cleaner to give away to one of you. Just tell me, in a comment, the spot in your bathroom that you would tackle first with a bottle of Soft Scrub Total. I’ll pick a winner after 11pm EST next Tuesday, January 26th, 2010. US entries only. Good luck!

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.

Congrats to commenter #12, Madonna, the winner of the coupon for a free bottle of Soft Scrub Total!

FTC info — Disclaimer: I received this product for free for review purposes; however, my review was honest and my opinions are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Frigidaire and actress Jennifer Garner have teamed up with Save the Children to help prevent and stop child poverty. Frigidaire’s Make Time for Change program is a clever & fun “Spin and Win” game, encouraging you to and rewarding you for doing one of the things you love best: Spending time with your kids!

You can enter daily for a chance to win a prize to help you do just that — spend more time with your little ones….and one very lucky person will win the grand prize, a brand new Frigidaire Affinity Washer and Dryer, whose time-saving features make that super easy to do!

Every time you play, Frigidaire will donate $1 to Save the Children, as part of their $250,000 commitment to support Save the Children’s CHANGE program, dedicated to providing nutritious snacks and promoting healthier lifestyles for children living in poverty in the United States.

Head over to Frigidaire’s Make Time for Change “Spin and Win” game for your daily chance to win some awesome prizes!

FTC info — Disclaimer: I was not paid to write this review; however, I was given the chance by MomSelect to win a Frigidaire Affinity Washer and Dryer for participating in this product’s/program’s promotion.

Last minute gifts can be the most stressful to decide on and buy….but thanks to Target, you can find something for the rest of your gift recipients that are earth-friendly and give back to the planet!

Take a look at these fun, eco-friendly products that would make great hostess gifts, teacher’s gifts, or gifts for those who….well, have just about everything!

The “I’m Not a Paper Cup” reusable mug is perfect for the earth-conscious coffee aficionado. Though it looks like a styrofoam or paper cup, it’s actually a smooth finish porcelain mug with a flexible rubber lid. ($18.99 at Target.com)

The Apple Tree-to-Be Kit contains everything the budding gardener needs to grow an apple (a.k.a. oxygen generator). The apple seedling grows in the pot until spring comes, when it can easily be transplanted to the yard. ($19.99 at Target.com)

The Kid’s Plush Kit for a Greener World introduces little ones to Waverly, the lovable raindrop, who, with the included storybook and field guide, helps kids learn how to keep the earth healthy. ($29.99 at Target.com)

I am super excited to tell you today about my third arm: My BusyBodyBook. I’ve had a planner on my person since I was in 10th grade. I’ve had them all — the inexpensive drug store planners all the way up to the fancy order-by-mail planners. As my life moved in new directions (homeschooling, blogging, etc.), I realized I needed an organizer that was more categorical….a planner that could meet the demands I placed on it.

I received and began using my first BusyBodyBook last fall. LIFE CHANGE! This planner stood up where others fell short. As a preschooling-at-home mom and person who’s maintaining two blogs weekly, I was pleasantly surprised at how the BusyBodyBook kept me organized and on top of things — all the while keeping me in style!

The pages of the BusyBodyBook are broken up into weeks. The left side gives a space to “doodle” and write a master task list for the week. The right side is a blocked calendar, giving you five categories per day to personalize.

As you can see, the BusyBodyBook is customizable for whatever “theme” you would like to use: Health & fitness, teaching, general clerical tasks, blogging, whatever! The five categories I use are:

1) Shopping to be done, orders to be placed
2) Muses of Megret blog
3) Technical (computer problems to fix/updates to make)
4) Muse Reviews blog
5) Research items, homeschooling prep

The BusyBodyBook is available in two types: The academic year BBB (Aug-Aug) and the calendar year BBB (Jan-Dec). Each one comes in two different cover styles/designs, all four of which change each year. I chose the Grape design for this year. It came in the mail this week, and I’m breaking it in today!

BusyBodyBook also carries an undated grid calendar pad, which has a magnetic back for easy application to the fridge or a file cabinet! Also available is the BusyBodyBook wall calendar, which also has an expanded 7-column grid for the same easy, quick-glance planning! (And for more BBB news and info, check out the BusyBodyBook blog.)

You can purchase BusyBodyBook products from their secure online store, or via Amazon.com.

Win it! Courtesy of BusyBodyBooks, one of you can win your very own BusyBodyBook Personal & Family Organizer, a $17.95 value! Awesome! All you need to do is go over to BusyBodyBook’s website and tell me which one of the four calendar year options/cover designs you’d choose if you won. I’ll close the contest next Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 11pm EST. Sorry; US entries only. Good luck, everyone!

CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.

Congratulations to commenter #28, Paige, the winner of the BBB planner of her choice!

OfficeMax’s signature, hip and funky school supply line, Schoolio Von Hoolio, has some new and nifty patterns and designs out for the 2009-2010 school year! I was fortunate enough to get a sneak peek of the new merchandise….a box of Schoolio Von Hoolio goodies arrived in my mailbox this week. Such darling designs! Funky florals, 70s owls, and cute cupcakes.

I was also able to take part in my first ever blogcast yesterday afternoon….”webinar,” if you will….put on by OfficeMax and starring organizational guru extraordinaire, Peter Walsh. You might know him from Oprah or TLC. (He’s back on Oprah on August 27th, by the way!) Peter shared some incredible tips for moms, teachers, AND students alike for gaining organizational know-how and putting decluttering techniques to work for an easier, less-stressful school year. Throughout the webinar, 200 other bloggers and I conversed back and forth via Twitter.

The multitasking freak that I am, I also simultaneously took notes. Here are a few of the top points, the best advice I gained overall:

- Organization at home gives kids confidence at school…and relieves stress.
- Clutter causes stress for parents AND kids. Clutter also greatly inhibits studying effectiveness.
- First: Determine a vision for every space in your home. What do you want to use the space for? How can you accomplish this mission?
- Make organization a family value.
- Establish clear routines w/ your children. (For example, after school each day, tell them to clean out their backpack, prep it for next day, set out clothes.) Routine shouldn’t stop when toddlerhood ends — older kids thrive off of it and need it, too!
- Complete the cycle. (Finish tasks you begin. Model it for your children. Help them carry it out.)
- Children respond to not only words, but also COLORS and symbols. Subjects can be organized by color folders (for homeschooling AND homework from school to be done).
- Warning signs of being overwhelmed: Spiral of clutter, sudden less involvement in class discussions.
- Letting kids choose their own supplies and take ownership of them helps them want to keep them organized. (Create their own personal desk/desk space, even during the preschool age, if it’s possible.)
- Teachers say the one item kids/families have/buy too much of: Pencils.
- Instead of candy, fruit or mugs, give school organizational supplies as teacher’s gifts. Many teachers spend up to $1,200 a year on supplies for their classrooms!
- Tip for homeschoolers: Try to keep school space and living space separate! (Your and your child’s mental attitudes change when you enter/exit the workspace.)
- Sandwich bags are great for organizing small objects (puzzle pieces, math manipulatives, game pieces) — they’re cheap, they’re see-thru. Other ideas: Small totes, small tupperware containers, jars, zippered mesh bags. Stack attractively on shelving.
- At home, a simple week calendar helps young children learn the concept of time passing and aids in early learning of scheduling.

Peter Walsh has written a number of books, and he also has an upcoming book for the teens called It’s All Too Much…So Get It Together, a sub-let of the similar, widely-popular book for adults.

Search Twitter for #OMX_Blogcast for even more great tips from the webinar. There were tons!

AND look! You can watch the entire webcast right here, right now!

OfficeMax cares about organization and cares about teachers. In fact, this Sunday, August 9th, is Teacher Appreciation Day at OfficeMax. Teachers can receive a FREE reusable shopping tote and get 15% off everything you can fit inside!

Thanks to OfficeMax and Peter Walsh for a terrific experience at “Back to School with Peter Walsh!”

When I had an opportunity to review Secrets of Simplicity: Learn to Live Better With Less by Mary Carlomagno, I knew I’d have a winner in my hands. Just one look at the front cover brings calm and peace, illustrated so beautifully by Andrea Cobb (whose art is scattered throughout the rest of the book, as well).

Mary Carlomagno is the founder and owner of a company called Order. She and her business specialize in and focus on helping others simplify their lives, bring organization in and shuffle chaos out, and help with shopping addictions.

In this book, you learn how to simplify your life, your home, and your office by focusing on several key steps: Releasing of the unnecessary, simplification of your possessions and calendar, figuring out what your “treasures” are, bringing focus and time management back, getting a healthy handle on your money, realizing and seeking out your dreams, and thriving in everyday situations to help what you’ve learned to stick.

Though I’m pretty much Type-A and consider myself relatively organized in most key areas, I admit wholeheartedly that there are other areas which are “organized chaos,” but to everyone else (especially my husband) appear simply as “total chaos.” I am always looking for ideas on how to cut down on the clutter that I just can’t seem to eradicate, whether it be out of laziness, lack of know-how, or the irrational fear of not being able to find anything again!

Overall, I gained an armload of terrific tips, suggestions, hands-on ideas, and insipration to declutter my own home and workspace, focus on what’s really important, and categorize my life better. I wasn’t terribly into the concepts of one’s zen or buddhist principles, but that did not dissuade me from enjoying this book immensely and appreciating Carlomagno’s expertise.

I love, love workbooks that are spiral-bound like this one, complete with questions to ponder (or answer within the margins or on a separate page). These are a few of the questions that I found particularly thought-provoking:

- “How has modern technology affected the way you think, work, and live?” (p. 44)
- “What is my inner monologue about?” (p. 120)
- “What does your space say about you? What do you want your space to say about you?” (p. 51)

You can purchase Secrets of Simplicity: Learn to Live Better With Less for $19.95 at your favorite local bookseller or directly from Chronicle Books, where there is currently a 25% off promotional sale on this book if you enter ” SIMPLICITY ” at checkout!

Win it! Courtesy of Chronicle Books, one of you can win this excellent title! Simply browse around at all of Chronicle Books’ other great books and let me know here, in one comment, a title that caught your eye. I’ll close the contest next Sunday, August 2, 2009 at 11pm EST. Sorry; US entries only. Good luck!

CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.

Congratulations to commenter #11, Jen N, who’s won this book!

For a few years now, we’ve been a big fan of the TykeLight Jr. by Mobi Technologies. I stumbled across the kid-friendly nightlight on Amazon and ordered one. It’s still going strong. Our son has passed it down to our daughter. I just can’t say enough about the TykeLight Jr. I even bragged about it in a recent “Works for Me Wednesday” post on Muses of Megret.

Well, Mobi has come out with a terrific, above-the-rest “sequel” to the TykeLight Jr.. Let me introduce to you the newest “glow buddy” on the block: The TykeLight GloMate!

The GloMate glows in three different colors: Blue, red, or green, but it ALSO cycles through a rainbow of colors at the push of a button.

The GloMate is a winner of the iParenting Media Award. Its silky-smooth exterior and cuddle-perfect size make a perfect nighttime buddy for your little one. It’s suitable and easy to use for ages 2 and up. Our four-year-old has nicknamed him “Mr. Special” and uses him for after-bedtime book browsing and as a fun accompaniment to middle-of-the-night bathroom trips. The color modes are easily switched with the use of an easy-to-find toggle button on the base.

Here is a brief video clip of G demonstrating how to begin the “color changing mode,” complete with color commentaries:

G and the GloMate from Megret on Vimeo.

The GloMate, like its predecessor, stays lit for up to 10 hours per charge. (No more nightlight malfunctions when the power goes out!) To recharge, you or your child can simply place it gently back on its base. It’s completely safe with no attached cords once it is off its base. The lights are cool-burning LEDs which mean there’s no risk of heat-based injuries.

You can purchase the TykeLight GloMate directly from Mobi for $24.99. It’s also available from Amazon and several more online retailers

Win it! Thanks to Mobi, I can give away one TykeLight GloMate to one of you! All you need to do is head over to Mobi’s website and look around. Come back here and tell me a feature of the GloMate you especially love OR another one of Mobi’s products that you’d find useful. That’s it! I’ll close the contest next Wednesday, July 8th, 2009 at 11pm EST. Sorry; US entries only. Good luck!

I can remember the commercials for ALL from my childhood — they stuck in my head all these years. The little kids spelling out “A-L-L” and the mom’s voice telling about how it’s “the stainlifter.” See if this brings back memories:

All these years later, ALL still gets the job done — and with less product than before! ALL introduces their “Small & Mighty” detergent, which is 3x concentrated. One easy-to-tote bottle does 3x the normal amount of laundry as regularly concentrated detergents!

Less product to buy and less environmental waste? Yes, count me in! Only a tiny capfull cleans an entire load of laundry, and cleans it well. Ever since I became a mom, eight loads of laundry each week is not uncommon. I need something that gets those loads clean the first time — not the second or third! All Small & Mighty stands up to the test and triumphs.

Courtesy of Mom Select, I was able to try ALL’s Small & Mighty Free Clear, completely void of dyes, enzymes, perfumes, and preservatives. Free Clear is the #1 detergent recommended by dermatologists for sensitive skin. With two of us suffering from mild eczema, I know that these allergy-reducing detergents are super important. It’s nice to know I can be doing all I can to make our home a cleaner, healthier, & safer place, starting with the clothes we wear and towels we use each day.

Plus, I can relax around all the stain probabilities that summer can bring: Ketchup, BBQ sauce, grass stains, and popsicle drips. ALL will take care of them — so why fret? The ALL Small & Mighty line of detergents handles stains just as effectively as the other, less concentrated formulas.

ALL Small & Mighty’s largest size, the 96-load bottle (96 oz.), retails for $12.99 at most locations.

Win it! Courtesy of ALL and Mom Select, I have three coupons to give away, each good for 1 free bottle of ALL Small & Mighty! How do you enter? Just leave me a comment telling me your biggest laundry-related problem or worry. I’ll close the contest at 11pm EST on Sunday, July 5th, 2009. Sorry; US entries only. Good luck!

I’d say my magazine subscription addiction is a little staggering. I love magazines as an informational tool. Though I gain many of my ideas and facts online, there’s just something about sitting down in a cozy chair with an actual paper periodical and turning pages.

Every time, before long, I have a mass of torn out magazine pages strewn at my feet, articles and picture of things I want to remember. I pick and choose out the projects, recipes, and decorating ideas that I like and toss (to recycle) the rest of the magazine. (I have to — I’m a pack-rat at heart, but I know that in reality, I can’t keep them all.)

What to do with them? Even filing them in a cabinet can amount to loads of paper clutter over several months’ time. So why not digitalize it?

Enter: Scanalog. It’s a handy, brilliant computer program that helps you keep track of any and all loose papers flying around your home. It works hand-in-hand with your home office scanner to import, electronically organize, and keep safe those things you don’t want to forget.

I received Scanalog to review and was immediately impressed by the clutter-free, appealing look and overall packaging. I simply inserted the included CD-ROM into my laptop and installed the program myself, no help needed from my tech-savvy husband! Once it’s installed, it’s super easy to route your scanner to the program so their tasks coincide.

Once you’ve scanned in an image or piece of printed material, you are free to move it into one of the eleven, adequately-spanning categories within the program’s interface. Within each major category, you can also add your own, more detailed or specific, subcategories (up to 102!), to customize your organization of your documents. You may also duplicate an image into multiple categories, since some things don’t fit so neatly into just one genre.

What all can you add in/scan in and organize with Scanalog?

- Lists of books you want to read or catalog items you see that you want to order in the future
- Lists of books you’ve already read
- Your daily thoughts….the Hopes & Dreams Journal helps you write down your daily happenings/ideas/inspirations in a format that’s clean, secure, and searchable
- Travel destinations to try
- Home decorating ideas & photos you’d like to save for future reference
- Kid crafts and activities
- Your child’s artwork
- Monumental parenting articles/advice
- Garden layout ideas and designs
- Household maintenance documents such as user guides and warranties
- Exercise regimens and guides
- Favorite clipped recipes or party planning ideas

A few of the other points I like about Scanalog and its features:

- It converts your images to .jpg form, an easier-to-work-with format
- It has an extensive keyword AND title search, so organization is truly a snap (you choose the keywords when it’s time to save and file your documents)
- After scanning, you can adjust the photo’s color, cropped size, and resolution

The possibilities are endless with Scanalog. It will make any home more organized, especially the homes of folks like me who gather hosts of delectable ideas but are fearful of losing them (and not being able to put their finger on them with the right time rolls around)! I love being able to save and chronicle my children’s artwork, as well as better organize all the little ideas I run across to supplement our homeschooling efforts….even the down-the-road ideas can be kept safe! Scanalog would make an excellent gift, especially for newlyweds or those purchasing their first home. I can’t tell you how valuable something like this would be for home decorating business owners, as well.

Scanalog has gotten rave reviews from customers near and far, as well as notable sources such as PCMagazine. Scanalog retails for $49.95 and includes the CD-ROM and a mousepad.

Win it! I’m excited to tell you that Kim Goldstein, the founder and owner of Scanalog, is offering one of you your very own Scanalog software package! All you have to do to enter is head over to Scanalog and look around. Come back here and tell me, in one comment, another aspect or feature of Scanalog that you like and that you’d find most helpful for your household. I’ll close the contest next Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009 at 11pm EST. Sorry; US entries only. Good luck!