Uhma Spa: The Miami Beach eco-chic urban sanctuary

There are spas all over Miami -- many of the beach resorts have spas -- but Uhma Spa is one that was designed and built to be environmentally friendly as well as naturally relaxing. I got a chance to visit this spa on the Chevy Eco Chic Tour last weekend and experience how being "green" is the perfect choice for a spa.

Uhma Spa uses bamboo flooring as well as domestic wood and low-VOC paint on the walls, so as soon as you enter, you are enveloped in a more-natural atmosphere. HEPA air filters and the scent of essential oils and soy candles even make the air more breathable. The owners, from Brazil, filter their own water so no plastic bottles are used, and all their products are organic and cruelty-free. The spa's shop sells nontoxic and all-natural products.



In addition to Uhma Spa's "green" factor, the spa treatments are top notch. On the tour, I had a mini massage -- definitely the most relaxing 10 minutes of my week! This was my spa room:



They also do facials, scrubs, masks, wraps, acupuncture and water therapy, including a Vichy shower, which originated in Vichy, France. A uniquely designed shower head arm streams jets of water over your body while you relax:

The bathtub is designed so that each jet has its own pipe, so there are no worries about contamination. Uhma Spa really has thought of everything, including a quiet waiting room where you can comfortably sip complimentary tea or water.

It's hard to believe all this natural goodness is right on the street in Miami Beach and definitely worth a visit when you are in town.

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Chevrolet provided a day of visits to green Miami businesses including Uhma Spa and transportation to and from them. They also provided a gift bag with items like a tire gauge/pen set. Uhma Spa gave each person on the Chevy Eco Chic Tour a gift bag with items like sunscreen and samples of Jane Iredale makeup. Opinions and silliness are my own.

Ecoist handbags and accessories reduce trash and help families

You've probably seen those bags made out of candy wrappers and chip bags -- they've been in lots of fashion magazines. I had heard about them, too, but had no idea the company that sells them, Ecoist, is right here in Miami.

Last weekend when I went on the Chevy Eco Chic Tour, I got to visit the Ecoist office and learn more about how the fun bags are made. Our group went to an upstairs room in the Wynwood Art Gallery area and found several shelves displaying the colorful bags of all sizes.

Total eye candy!

Candy for real -- many of the bags are made out of candy wrappers like M&Ms. Other bags are made out of chip bags or soda labels, all what's called post-industrial. See these rolls of labels?



Ecoist gets these from companies that would normally throw them away because they are changing the label. So they get saved from landfills or incinerators.

The label manufacturers in Peru hand them over to workers there who are skilled at folding the labels just right and sewing them into shape to create the Ecoist bags. Some of the workers, all working by hand, are mothers with young children. Ecoist is certified Fair Trade, so you know that these moms and others are getting good pay and not working in a sweat shop.

Saving items from landfills + paying workers a good wage = win/win for the environment and society.

And, of course, the bags are just plain cute.

I love this little leafy clutch.



But I also love the newspaper tote too.



The Ecoist office is full of other items made from wrappers. Take a look at these lamps! And the mannequin's hat!



The workspace is so open and funky that I imagined designing and creating there ... not sure what, exactly, but oh, I did imagine....

Want to win this Ecoist Diet Cherry Coke change purse? (valued at $22)



To enter, please comment below about your favorite item from the Ecoist site. I'll randomly select a winner next Friday. (Also check out the $20 Bloomingdale's gift card giveaway here.)

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Chevrolet provided a day of visits to green Miami businesses including Ecoist and transportation to and from them. They also provided a gift bag with items like a tire gauge/pen set. Ecoist gave each person on the Chevy Eco Chic Tour an Ecoist bag, and I have decided to give it away to generate more interest for the company. Opinions and silliness are my own.

Miki House children's clothing comes to Florida -- win a Bloomingdale's gift card!

Finding fun clothes and accessories for children that are also unique is something I like doing for my boys or for friends who are having birthday parties or showers -- and a visit to the new Miki House store in South Florida is a great place to shop for them!

Miki House has super cute, high-quality clothing for children 6 months to 6 years. The company started in Japan 40 years ago and now has stores all over the world. South Florida is lucky to have the only Miki House store in the state -- at Aventura Mall in Bloomingdale's.

Miki House has great accessories, too. I bought a sippy cup and the cutest chopstick, fork and spoon boxed set. The backpacks are just the right size for little backs to carry and are huggable too:




The Miki House clothes for little ones are made from supima cotton, so they are extra-super soft and hold up wash after wash. I like that the infant clothes have stitching on the outside, so babies' tender skin won't be irritated by rough edges or seams. There are lots of little details like that in the Miki House clothes, which are colorful and easy to mix and match.

One thing about being a mother of boys is you realize the shopping experience really is made for girls. Stores usually reserve more than 50% of their space for girl clothes and accessories, and the boy items don't seem nearly as cute. The Miki House boy clothes really are just as cute as the girl's, though. Shoes that look like cars? A reversible jacket with removable hood that has bear ears? Adorable stuff.

Speaking of shoes, I love the Miki House shoes! The designers have taken special care creating shoes that are truly just for kids (and the parents who have to put them on tiny feet). The shoes open wide so they're easy to slip on, then they close easily with Velcro. The toes of the shoes spread out and angle up to make it easier for new walkers to keep their balance -- and prevent falls. If you ask me (mom of two boys whose shins are often covered in bruises), that feature alone is worth the $60-$90 price tag.

If you'd like to get shopping and want a chance to win a $20 Bloomingdale's gift card, please leave a comment below with something cute you saw at the Miki House Facebook page. I will pick a winner next Friday so someone can hit the mall next weekend!

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Miki House invited me to attend a special presentation at its new location. They gave me some stationery items, their signature children's washcloth and a pair of spats. Bloomingdale's provided me with the gift card to give away. Opinions and silliness are my own.

Win a Crayola Timer Light Toothbrush and flossers

What's more fun than a toothbrush that looks like a Crayola crayon? How about a toothbrush that also lights up?

The GUM Crayola Timer Light Toothbrush helps kids brush for a full minute by flashing a light that signals to them when to stop. Kids push a button in the bottom of the toothbrush to start the light flashing, and they start brushing their teeth. When the light stops flashing, kids know they have brushed for a full minute -- and they can stop brushing.

It's fun!

GUM sent my family a Crayola Timer Light Toothbrush to review, and my preschooler couldn't wait to try it out. Mostly, he wanted to play with the flashing light, but eventually he settled down to brushing his teeth. See that nice glow around his mouth from the toothbrush?



Yeah. And when he was done brushing, the "toothbrush light" was still fun.



GUM also sent me a package of 40 Crayola-colorful kids' flossers, which have a nifty handle that helps kids hold onto the floss while they are cleaning their teeth.

Visit gumbrand.com and receive 30% off any order of $10 of more, using the promo code CR30. This code expires July 15.

If you'd like to win a GUM Crayola Timer Light Toothbrush and a package of flossers for your family, please leave a comment about your child's dental habits. GUM sent me five of each to give away, so there will be five winners! I'll pick a winner next Tuesday.

Helpful guidelines for kids’ oral care can be found on the GUM Crayola YouTube Channel and in this tip sheet (PDF).

Enchantment: Changing Hearts, Minds and Actions ... in your family

This past weekend, I was lucky to go to SheCon New Media Expo in Miami Beach (hi, new friends!), where the keynote speaker was Guy Kawasaki. At the conference, he dived into details that highlighted what's in his latest book, Enchantment: Changing Hearts, Minds and Actions. After his talk, I got to meet Guy Kawasaki in person! He signed the cover of my book (provided free at the conference). He seems like such a genuinely smart, funny and nice guy. Uh, Guy.

I know Enchantment was written for achieving success in business, but as Guy Kawasaki was talking, I couldn't help but think his tips also apply to family life. I don't think that's such a stretch, because he mentioned his family to illustrate some of his points.

For example....

1. Achieve likability. Guy Kawasaki said, "Start with a smile. You want crow's feet." I do believe in the old adage that you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. When it comes to family, if you want your child to do something or encourage him to grow in a certain direction, I think you will be more successful if you are sweet -- or likable.

2. Achieve trustworthiness. Guy said to trust others and ask, "How can I help the other person?" Kids need to know whom they can trust. And I believe, innately, they do. If they don't trust their parents, they will find someone else to trust. In the worst-case scenario, it could be a drug dealer, gang leader or a pedophile. So, a parent needs to be there for the kids so they will be trustworthy.

3. Prepare. Guy talked about coming up with a "premortem" -- what you might do if your plan fails. I think most in-tune parents have a Plan B for their kids. (OK, if I put the baby in the crib and he wakes up crying, this is what I'm going to try next to get him to sleep in his own bed....)

4. Prepare to Launch. Guy said, "Plant many seeds." He was talking about spreading your business' story far and wide because it's the "unknown" people who tell others about your product or service that can make it successful. The takeaway for family life, I think, is to plant many seeds within your children. Kids are still developing and becoming the person they are going to be. They need seeds. They need for parents to plant those important messages about life, many times.

5. Overcome Resistance. If anyone knows about (or dreams about) overcoming resistance, it's parents. One of Guy's tips was to find a way to agree -- to harmonize objections. He said to find a bright spot -- instead of overcoming an obstacle, go where things are flowing well. I think these ideas definitely apply to getting along with children in your family. I don't think of this as giving in to a child's demand to, say, eat a cookie in bed after you have tucked her in for the fourth time in one night. But there is wisdom in giving kids options so they feel in control of (at least part of) their lives and making it seem to your child that you are both on the same wavelength, as detailed in Transforming the Difficult Child: The Nurtured Heart Approach and other books about parenting spirited or downright defiant kids.

6. Endure. Like businesses, parents need endurance. The nature of parenting demands it! Guy said to build an ecosystem -- a supportive community -- to make enchantment endure. I'm fortunate to be part of a couple mom groups where we share ideas and tips on raising kids or even just commiserate with one another on how hard it can be to be a mom. And we have fun together. Having fun with your kids and others goes a long way toward being able to endure, I think. Another big point here that Guy made was to invoke reciprocation. He said when people thank you, say, "You would do the same for me," in addition to "You're welcome." In other words, enable people to pay you back. I think this would work great with teenaged kids, and also teach them the value of reciprocity.

Guy talked about using push and pull technology, and then how to enchant your employees and your boss. I think the chapter about enchanting your employees would be a great read from a parenting angle. One of his tips is to provide a MAP (mastery, autonomy, purpose), and as parents, this is our goal for our kids: people who are independent and filled with a sense of purpose for their lives. Another, sometimes humbling, key from Guy is to suck it up and show you are willing to do what it takes -- that you would never ask someone else to do something you wouldn't do yourself. I love this tip because I hate it when I see parents using their children as gophers in unpleasant tasks. (One time, my stepmother made me take an overdue rent check to our landlord because she didn't want to face him. I felt awkward, and when the landlord complained about how late the rent check was and told me to give my parents the message, I felt ashamed even though it wasn't my fault. I'd never want to put my kids in that position.)

Guy Kawasaki's presentation at SheCon was full of good advice for bloggers and business owners -- and parents -- who want to be so enchanting that resisting them is futile (as he wrote on the cover of everyone's books).

If you'd like to win my extra copy of Enchantment, please leave a comment about family life, the book, Guy Kawasaki or another related topic. I'll randomly select a winner next week. Good luck!

Win a beautiful Shabby Apple dress!

See this amazing dress? It's called Spanish Steps, part of a new line by Shabby Apple, which makes beautiful women's dresses. I first found out about Shabby Apple a couple years ago through another blogger. Shabby Apple has easy, casual dresses and dress-up dresses. They also design maternity dresses and dresses for little girls. If you love dresses, you should definitely know about Shabby Apple.

When you check out the Shabby Apple dresses, you can use the coupon code "tropicofmom10off" to save when you find a dress you have to have. Also be sure to like the Shabby Apple Facebook page for more discounts, giveaways and news.

The best news here is that Shabby Apple has offered to let me give away this Spanish Steps dress! I think it is perfect for all the upcoming spring and summer events you'd wear a dress to: Easter, Mother's Day brunch, weddings or graduation ceremonies. You could win this dress! Not too shabby. Except it is. Heh! Update: Commenter 19, Freckle Face Girl, has won. Thank you to everyone who commented!

To win, please leave a comment about where you'd wear this dress, or mention your favorite Italian art work (since Spanish Steps if part of the new Roamin' Holiday line of dresses from Shabby Apple.) I'm not one to make people go through a lot of hoops to win something, but I'd appreciate it if you'd follow my blog. I'll pick a winner at random next Monday. Good luck, and happy dress shopping! Contest open only in the U.S.

Win a Veggie Tales 'Twas the Night Before Easter DVD

There's never ever ever ever ever been a show like Veggie Tales! The latest DVD from the friendly veggies, 'Twas the Night Before Easter, has the usual good moral and delightful spoofs everyone has come to expect from the show. This time, the moral is about the true meaning of Easter, and the spoof is an American Idol-style audition -- featuring former AI finalist Melinda Doolittle as the newest veggie, singing sensation Cassie Cassava. (You're going to look for cassava recipes now, aren't you?)



The DVD “eggs-tra” bonus features include “The Hopperena” Silly Songs Sing-Along, a spotlight on Melinda Doolittle and an Easter cards interactive matching game.

'Twas the Night Before Easter would be a fun addition to an Easter basket.

Want to win one? The Veggie Tales folks are generously providing one DVD for me to give away. Yay! I'll select a winner at random on Friday. Just leave a comment about Veggie Tales or Easter. Congrats to Averyswife on winning this DVD! Thank you to everyone who commented to win.

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Veggie Tales/Big Idea Entertainment/LBI are providing a free DVD for me to give away. All opinions and silliness are my own.

Enjoy three new Baby Einstein Discovery Kits -- And a chance to win a Discovery Kit

When my preschooler was a baby, we received a Baby Einstein music CD. I kept it in the rotation of discs in my car, because as soon as he'd had enough of his car seat (which was after about a minute and a half), my baby would start wailing -- and hearing the Baby Einstein music calmed him down most of the time.

More Baby Einstein CDs, books and DVDs followed. (Don't tell his preschool pals, but sometimes my son still likes to watch Baby Einstein DVDs, especially Things That Go, which for some reason he calls "The Squirrel Show.")

(???)

So I think it's great that parents can get Baby Einstein Discovery Kits, which include a music CD, DVD and either a book or Discovery Cards -- all about one theme. Baby Einstein recently unveiled three new Discovery Kits: Baby Lullaby, Neptune’s Oceans & World of Rhythm.

Baby Lullaby soothes babies (and parents!) with classical lullabies by Bach, Brahms and Mozart. Think relaxing ocean waves, cute puppet shows and tranquil images. So sweet! (Level 1)

Neptune's Oceans celebrates amazing marine life in their natural habitats: Penguins, whales, dolphins, sea lions and crabs. And it's all set to great music. (Level 2)

In the World of Rhythm, new characters Pillie, the musical woodpecker, and Coco, the dancing cockatoo, explore rhythm in music, rhythm in nature and rhythm as a form of expression. Cha cha cha! (Level 3)

In addition to the new Discovery Kits, you'll also find six other kits (in all age levels) already out there: Baby Beethoven, Baby Mozart, Animals Around Me, Wild Animal Safari, World of Colors and World of Words. Discovery Kits are typically priced at $19.99 U.S./$24.99 Canada.

Want a chance to win a Baby Einstein Discovery Kit?! Baby Einstein is generously offering one for me to give away. Leave a comment about your favorite Baby Einstein product, or mention which one you've got your eye on. (The Neptune's Ocean Discovery Kit does it for me!) I'll choose a winner by random on Friday, March 4. Please make sure there's a way to get in touch with you to tell you if you've won. Good luck!

I received this free Discovery Kit through a LBi/Baby Einstein program. However, all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own (can you tell?), and no other monetary compensation took place.

Download:

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Win Tangled prescreen tickets!

My family is looking forward to our annual holiday-time pilgrimage to the Orlando area. We are going to play at Disney and SeaWorld. One of the things I know we will probably see at Disney is memorabilia from the new animated Rapunzel movie Tangled, Disney's 50th full-length animated film (!), which opens the day before Thanksgiving.

Courtesy of Pantene (perfect, no?), my family is going to have the chance to see Tangled before it comes out at a special prescreening event! And guess what? You can too!

If you are able to attend the prescreening of Tangled on Saturday, Nov. 20 at 10 am at AMC Aventura 24 (at the Aventura Mall), then please leave a comment here or on the Tropic of Mom Facebook page to let me know you'd like to go. I'll randomly select a winner this coming Sunday, the 14th. Then maybe you'd like to grab lunch with us or walk through the mall to see the holiday decorations! Or not. Heh! Up to you....

Be Colorful: Win tickets to the Vera Bradley Experience!

Vera Bradley company founders are coming to Orlando's Loews Portofino Bay Hotel Oct. 6-7 -- and you can meet and talk with them!

You could also win two free tickets to the Vera Bradley Be Colorful Experience, which includes meals, a sneak peek at the 2011 spring line, shopping and a runway show! The $50 registration fee will be waived. Transportation to the event isn't included.

If you've ever had visions of being a model, you can enter the reader model competition on Oct. 7 at 10 am. Celebrity stylists will choose 25 finalists, and one will be part of a future Vera Bradley photo shoot!

Find out more about the Vera Bradley Be Colorful Experience through the link above. Please leave a comment if you'd like to win tickets!

A treat with Good Humor

We are a big ice cream family, mainly because my husband has to eat ice cream every single night. He has eaten ice cream every night since college. And it has to be chocolate.

I didn't get a lot of ice cream while I was growing up, so treats like Good Humor bars were not something I was even aware of (even though Good Humor is celebrating its 90th anniversary!). In fact, when I was in fifth grade, a boy named Jesse was going over his spelling list and came to the word "humor" but said "hummer," and the teacher then made a joke and started calling Jesse the Good Hummer boy.

True story.

Sadly, that classroom pronunciation mistake was my first introduction to Good Humor.

It's easy to see why Good Hummer ... sorry, Good Humor's Chocolate Eclair and Strawberry Shortcake are so popular. There's really nothing else like them.

There's also nothing else like being pregnant and craving a box of ice cream, so I gave my coupon for a Good Humor treat to Madeline at Barefoot Childhood, who is going to have her second child soon. The nice and good-looking people at Good Humor provided the coupon to me to write this review.

You could score a Good Humor treat like Madeline during Good Humor's Sweet-Stakes, which ends on Sept. 6 (Labor Day, ah the official end of summer). To celebrate 90 years of frozen creaminess, Good Humor is offering instant-win prizes inside specially marked 4 oz. single-serve Good Humor Strawberry Shortcake, Chocolate Éclair, Toasted Almond and Candy Center Crunch bars. Then instant winners will be automatically entered in the $10,000 grand prize drawing when they redeem their instant-win prizes online.

To keep up with Good Humor, check out their Facebook page.

Back-to-school snack tips and recipes, plus a giveaway!

It almost seems summer started only last week, and yet you read and hear "It's back to school," everywhere. In my case, my son starts preschool again in a little more than two weeks, so I need to think about starting school again -- and start preparing! My friends are already buying school supplies and shopping for school uniforms, and one has even asked about ideas for the lunchbox.

Whether in the lunchbox, part of a school snack time or after school, meals and snacks are a big part of going back to school to keep kids fueled through their day. Frito-Lay has some tips on how to prepare healthier snacks and pack a nutritional punch with your kids -- and they want to give away reusable food containers and an eco-friendly lunch bag (like the one below) along with some tasty SunChips and Tostitos!

Tip #1: Sneak In The Whole Grains

We all know whole grains are important, but how do you get kids to eat them when they’re used to white breads and pastas? It’s easy: Add it to their snacks! Frito-Lay has two great options your kids are bound to enjoy.

- SunChips multigrain snacks pack a whole grain punch with 18 grams of whole grains per serving. Portion out a serving into a reusable container for your kids’ lunch boxes or throw in a one-ounce bag for easy on-the-go snacking!

- Tostitos Scoops! tortilla chips are another great option. Made with just three simple ingredients -– corn, vegetable oil and salt -– they pack 8 grams of whole grains into each serving. Another great surprise about Tostitos Scoops!: A one-ounce serving contains less sodium than a slice of white bread!

Tip #2: Jazz Up Your Fruit

Fruit is always a go-to snack, but it’s not always the first choice for kids. Jazz up your fruit by making fun shapes!

- Cut apples into French-fry-style strips.

- Use cookie cutters to make fun shapes out of cantaloupe.

- Take a peach and scoop out little balls your kids can pop in their mouths.

- Peel some grapes and call them “slimy eyes” to add some appeal.

Tip #3: Dip It!

Oh, yeah! Boost the nutrition of snacks by pairing some of your kids’ favorite munchies with nutrient-packed dips.

- Make fruit even more appealing by pairing it with flavored non-fat Greek yogurt. Not only will your kids love dipping the fun shape of fruit, they’ll be getting calcium and protein in the snack as well.

- For chips, take the nutrient factor up a notch with healthier dipping choices such as Sabra hummus or fresh salsa. Just check out these recipes from registered dietitian and mom Deanna Segrave-Daly:

Mediterranean Dip

Ingredients
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
½ cup roasted red peppers, chopped
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Salt to taste

Instructions
Mix corn, chopped peppers and balsamic vinegar together in a small bowl. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Baked Bean Dip

Ingredients
1 slice bacon (how about even turkey bacon?)
1 (15-ounce) can baked beans
1 tablespoon grape jelly

Instructions
Cook bacon in large skillet until crisp. Remove bacon, crumble and set aside. Drain bacon grease, but do not wipe out pan. Add can of baked beans (including sauce). Bring to a boil. Stir in grape jelly and reduce heat. Simmer until liquid is reduced by half (about 5 minutes.) Mash beans with a fork or potato masher and allow liquid to be absorbed.

If you'd like a chance to win a reusable lunch bag and food containers from Frito-Lay, leave a comment to mention your favorite Frito-Lay product or your tips/ideas for school snacks and lunches. I'll randomly choose a winner Aug. 19.

Enjoy dinner and a movie with McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurants

There are only a few weeks left of summer (officially). Did you get to have any fun? If you're due for a date night or some fun on the town with girlfriends, check out this great deal from McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurants: From now through Sept. 30, any guest who purchases a dinner entrée will have the option to add a movie ticket to their bill for just $5.00. They call it Reel to Reel. (Get it?!) Enjoy a pre-screening dinner, skip the box office hassle and walk away with a discounted movie ticket!

Click here for a list of McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurants around the country and their nearby cinemas. You can also find McCormick & Schmick's locations here.

To help you plan your dinner-and-a-movie night out, McCormick & Schmick's is generously offering a $25 dining certificate to a lucky reader. To win, please leave a comment about what you would order at the restaurant and what movie you would like to see afterward. I'll randomly choose a winner on Aug. 18.

Do your kids Create? Comment and win!

Are your kids Disney lovers -- or maybe art lovers? Then you probably know about Create. It's an online entertainment portal launched by Disney last summer that allows you to design images, make comic books and create pictures with favorite Disney characters from Toy Story 3 to the Jonas Brothers. Create users can also interact with one another. I tried it out. It's fun! I could show you my masterpiece mess of the Disney fairies ... but I'd rather not because your kid would laugh at me.

Anyway, Create just added a new feature that lets you publish your creation to the Group Wall, where it becomes part of the mosaic like the Mickey Mouse image above. Awesomely cool! The Group Wall mosaic is updated in real time so users can watch as new artwork is added, and it features unique tools allowing you to locate your artwork within the mosaic!

To promote this amazing new feature, Disney.com is giving away great Disney prize packs: magnetized white board w/ erasable pen that kids can create their own creations on, as well as a pair of pink ear bud headphones! I have three to give away -- please see below.

Create is the No. 1 ranked community-family and parenting destination on the Web. The easy-to-use creativity tools offer an entirely new way to interact with Disney characters and stories. Guests have access to Disney character art and graphics to design your own works of art, then share them with other guests online. You can make artwork, comic books, music videos, animated pets and more, all using Disney characters and graphics.

And it's free!

You can share your online art portfolio with friends, which makes it even more fun for kids.

To win one of three Disney prize packs, please leave a comment below detailing what you or your child like to do on Create, or a way that your kid has been creative this summer. Winners will be chosen randomly Aug. 2. Contest open only in the U.S.

Win Whole Foods 365 body care products

Do you know what is in the stuff you put on your body? Is natural better -- and what does "natural" really mean?

Listen to the Whole Foods Whole Body podcast, and you could win a package of natural body-care items!

Whole Foods Market is running a three-part podcast series promoting its own Premium Body Care line, focusing on the importance of knowing what is in your body care products. I know I started paying more attention to the chemicals in everyday products when I was expecting my first baby, and since then, I try to pick out products without harmful ingredients.

The podcasts include:

1. Premium Body Care® – A Worthy Challenge- discusses how their standard helps define What "Natural" really means in body care products.

2. Holding the Bar High in Natural Body Care - focuses on why these strict natural guidelines are important. You’ll also learn about the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, a national coalition of health and environmental groups that are working to eliminate harmful chemicals from personal care products. Yay!

3. Positive Changes for the Industry, for Everyone - looks at how these standards raise the bar for the natural body care industry as a whole.

Listen to the podcasts, then come back to this post and leave a comment letting me know what you think! In two weeks, I'll randomly pick one of you to win this Whole Body body care package. Good luck!