PICKS & GIVEAWAYS by Robin Gorman Newman

According to a Kaiser Permanente study, newborns sleeping in a room with a fan have a lower risk of sudden infant death syndrome. A simple house fan can lower the risks of SIDS by nearly 70%.  Having a fan in the room helps maintain air flow and keep a steady temperature.

Miallegro’s Tower Fan 1760 is designed to refresh, purify, oxygenate, ventilate and calm the air in your room.  The Tower Fan 1760 allows you to personalize the settings with three speeds and shut off timer of up to 8 hours. The elegant standing fan features a digital control panel, ergonomic remote control, and sliding screen. The silent mode option makes this fan a perfect fit for baby’s room or any room. 

I’m a huge fan of of air purifiers, and this cools as well with a calm, gentle air flow.  We have it in my 10 year old’s room by his bed, and he loves it.  It’s modern enough so that it looks attractive, and the base isn’t huge, so it doesn’t take up a lot of room.  My son has seasonal and dust mite allergies, as do I, and this is a great product to have.  The remote control is convenient and easy to use, and my gadget-happy son loves the sliding screen.  Visit www.MiallegroStore.com. 

“Take the Spira Challenge” is a new campaign by Spira Footwear that is the first performance-based guarantee organized by a footwear company to challenge and motivate runners to beat their previous performance race time while testing their running shoes (Spira or any other brand). If a runner opts to test Spira running shoes and does not meet his/her goal time, they can return the shoes to Spira for a full refund! 

While I didn’t take the Challenge, I did wear a pair of Spira Stinger 2 sneakers to the gym and for a walk, and I must say….they have become my new absolute favorite, go-to sneaker.  I have never found one more comfortable (and I like to shop)!!  According to Spira, the Stinger 2 has been a shoe three years in the making. It is an ultra lightweight running/racing shoe with three re-engineered springs. The WaveSpring® technology provides a high level of responsiveness and protection against fatigue and stress while combining a level of cushioning and responsiveness that is difficult to achieve for a shoe in this weight category–weighing a mere 7.8 oz*. The foot-bed may be removed to accommodate orthotics.  The innovative technology brings comfort to runners and caters to individuals who want more enjoyable, longer, and productive runs while reducing stress on the body, recovery time and injuries.These sneakers are truly a must try!!

Eco Vessel is based in Boulder, Colorado at the base of the Rocky Mountains. Their products are developed from safe, sturdy, sustainable materials while offering innovation and practicality. Their complete product line provides options for everyone from toddlers to adults.  Their water bottles and food storage containers are made of high quality, non-leaching materials and are designed for safety, ease of use and convenience.  their products are BPA andphthalate free, recyclable, and environmentally friendly.

The FROST, for children age 3 and up, offers excellent insulation and is made of sturdy gauge stainless steel to resist dents. Drinks stay cold and fresh for hours, and hands stay warm and dry – insulated bottles are sweat-proof. A comfortable spout flips up and down for easy drinking and there’s no need to tilt, since a straw goes all the way down to the bottom. Visit http://www.ecovessel.com.  We live in NY, and have been dealing with a major heat wave.  My 10 year old son attends camp, and takes his FROST bottle with him each weekday to camp, and he said how grateful he was to have it because it even kept milk cold.  Can’t recommend this bottle enough!!

GIVEAWAY: Would you like to win a Robot Water Bottle?  Write to [email protected], put ECO VESSEL WATER BOTTLE BLOG GIVEAWAY in the Subject Line.  Drop a note indicating why you’d like to win.  If you won, you will be notified via email.  One lucky winner will be chosen.

 Easy Canvas Prints™ easy to use website helps you create a special memory captured on canvas, or a special photo turned into wall art.  You just download a photo, and can choose various sizes of canvas, wrapped or framed, or with a stand in the back so you don’t have to hang it if you prefer not to. Their canvas prints are printed and stretched in-house by canvas professionals, and come ready to hang or display with a classic semi-gloss finish. Just choose your canvas size and wrap thickness, upload your pictures or art, and choose your border for a personalized canvas print of your own.  Visit http://www.easycanvasprints.com.  We made one up (8 x 10)  from our recent San Diego trip, and my son loves having it on a shelf in his room.  Brings back cool memories, and looks way nicer than just putting a photo in a frame.

IPC Sports, launched the Fan Band in 2012. In May, they reached the milestone of carrying an officially licensed Fan Band for every one of the 30 teams in Major League Baseball – just in time for summer fun & the bulk of the 2013 baseball season!

The Original Fan Band is the only authentic licensed armband on the market embroidered with exact replicas of player or team jerseys. At only $14.99, the highly collectible Fan Band’s unique, patented design gives sports lovers new way to show their team pride. Cheerleaders, celebrities, players and fans all proudly wear the (one size fits all) Fan Band on game day and every day.

My son and husband are Yankees fans, and this is a very cool, fun, and comfortable item….and a great gift…..for the big or little sports fan in your life.

GIVEAWAY: Would you like to win the Fan Band of your choice?  Write to [email protected], put FAN BAND BLOG GIVEAWAY in the Subject Line.  Drop a note indicating what team you like and why you’d like to receive a Fan Band.  If you won, you will be notified via email.  One lucky winner will be chosen.

Eye-Hole is an adjustable eyeglass necklace that is a fun, attractive and functional fashion accessory.

·         versatile because it can be used both for reading glasses and sunglasses

·         stylish and is available in suede, braided leather or polished cotton cords

·  functional because it allows you to always have your glasses handy and ensure that you never forget and leave them behind

Eye-Hole adjustable eyeglass necklaces are available for $25 at www.eye-hole.com and at various retailers throughout the country.

I don’t wear glasses and have yet to need reading glasses, but I do religiously wear sunglasses in summer, and this is a great necklace to have.  I had a habit of putting my glasses, when I wasn’t wearing them, on the neckline of my blouse or dress, and sometimes they’d fall off or yank down the neckline. So, I was excited to try out Eye-Hole (pictured style: The Thompson with a pretty bead), and it’s a great, handy, appealing product….and a unique gift!

For expert LEGO® builder Nathanäel Kuipers, it’s not how many bricks you have but how you use them. A former official designer for the LEGO Group, Kuipers shares his insider expertise in The LEGO Build-It Book, Vol. 1: Amazing Vehicles (No Starch Press, 136 pp., $19.95, ISBN 9781593275037), from No Starch Press.

According to Kuipers, the goal of his new book is to spark the creative imagination in every reader by showing how to use a collection of standard parts to construct a variety of models. As Kuipers explains, “having only a little to work with teaches you how to be truly creative.” With a handful of easy-to-find pieces, builders of all ages will be ready to make 10 vehicles ranging from a simple go-kart to an impressive rescue truck.

Readers learn to build each of the models in The LEGO Build-It Book, Vol. 1 through step-by-step instructions with full-color renderings created by co-author Mattia Zamboni. The book also features creative building techniques that help readers get a better understanding of the LEGO system and become better builders. “You don’t need to buy the really expensive products or lots and lots of sets to make interesting models,” Kuipers says. “With a little creativity and some useful techniques, you can build endless models from a simple collection of bricks.”

And the story doesn’t end here. Volume 2 of The LEGO Build-It Book is due for a September 2013 release, and it uses the same collection of pieces as the first volume. The possibilities that lie in a single set of bricks may just be limitless, after all.  My son has always loved Legos….we recently took him to Legoland in California where we had a blast….so this book is a great addition to his ever-expanding Lego book collection that he treasures.  It’s a beautiful gift for any Lego lover!

Sample pages from The LEGO Build-It Book, Vol. 1: Amazing Vehicles:

Available in fine bookstores everywhere, from http://www.oreilly.com/nostarch, or directly from No Starch Press (http://www.nostarch.com).

At age 13, in addition to writing DON’T JUDGE A BIRD BY ITS FEATHERS, Tori illustrated the book  and is a gifted young artist who uses vibrant colors to capture the essence of her subjects.

When Tori isn’t traveling the world, she lives in Southern California with her parents, her younger brother, and a variety of family pets.

Written & Illustrated by Tori Nighthawk (Published by Anne Stone Publishing)

This is the story of Luminous, the most popular bird of paradise in the New Guinea rainforest.  She has beautiful feathers and everyone admired her.  Phoenix loved her since they were chicks, but with his drab feathers and awkward dancing, he thought he didn’t stand a chance.  Phoenix didn’t let that stop him. He cleverly tried new things, listened to advice from others and in the end, roved that there was a lot more to him than met the eye.

Being bird lovers, my son and I enjoyed reading this book together…and the illustrations are very eye-catching and vibrant, and the book shares a positive, touching and empowering message for young readers.

• Product Details: Hardcover: 60 pages; Glossary: Includes photographs and scientific descriptions of the rainforest animals depicted in the story.

Note: Thanks to the featured companies for supplying product samples.

TO READ ROBIN’S BIO — https://motherhoodlater.com/meet-robin/

Tags: air purifier, kids books, later motherhood, legos, major league baseball, products for kids, running sneakers, water bottle