Instablog-Columbus, Ohio

Jessica Alba's Honest Company is Honestly Amazing!

Early this year, Jessica Alba launched the Honest Company with the intention to make safe and eco-friendly products available to families. She partnered up with Christopher Gavigan, the author of Healthy Child Healthy World to create a family brand we can all trust to use on our children. The Honest Company carries baby products as well as household cleaning supplies that are 100% non-toxic, sustainable, and oh so cute!

I heard about the Honest Company through Facebook and wanted to learn more about it. I checked out their website and liked how easy it was to navigate around the site. I love the site's aesthetics and design plus who doesn't love looking at adorable babies in diapers. (P.S. there's a baby boy model that looks exactly like Eden, check him out!) I recommend watching the video to learn about the story behind honest.com. What struck me from the video was when they displayed the names of toxic chemicals in our everyday household products which has been linked to chronic diseases such as asthma, childhood cancer, and autism. This was totally a wake up call telling me that I needed to make safer choices in the products I use in my home. As parents, we all want the best for our children and don't want anything to compromise with their health.

Before committing to their monthly subscription, I wanted to make sure the Honest products lived up to its name. I ordered the Free Discovery Kit (just paid $4.95 for shipping) and the Family Essential trial size came right to my doorstep in two days. I was so impressed with the products and Eden seems to enjoy it just as much as I did. I knew I was making the right decision. The Family Essential Bundle cost $35.95/month. I've been using Honest products for a little over a month now and my experience has been positive. It simply works! Below is a review of the five essentials in the Family Bundle.

Honest Face & Body Lotion     A+
The Honest lotion is by far my favorite product out of the line. It is composed of organic olive oil, shea butter and organic aloe to rehydrate and moisturize sensitive skin.The lotion is fragrance free with a hint of a rosy scent. It's quite refreshing to say the least and I do appreciate that the lotion isn't oily or greasy. Eden has extremely sensitive skin so I'm glad the Honest lotion is hypoallergenic and keeps the moisture in her skin. After using the lotion, I found that her skin has improved. She had less irritation of the skin and patches of dry skin has minimized.

Honest Shampoo & Body Wash     A+
For Eden, bath time is essential and having the right product makes her experience more enjoyable. I highly recommend the Honest Shampoo & Body Wash for this reason. It's a tear-free, plant-based formula that gently washes babies from head-to-toe. The scent of the shampoo/baby wash is Sweet Orange Vanilla and it smells delightful. Her hair ends up feeling silky soft and smelling like sorbet ice cream. I do like the fact that I only have to use a dime size amount to wash her long hair. That's a huge plus! It lathers on great and the product works its magic to get rid of the dirt on her hair and body.

I especially like how the Honest Company chose to combine two products in one. Come to think of it, this product is actually three in one. I always squeeze a bit of the shampoo/body wash combo in while the waters running to create the bubbles so hey that counts! How convenient is it that you can use the one bottle for shampoo, body wash, and a bubble bath. Products like this totally simplifies my life.

My only suggestion would be to add more scents to the line. I love to mix it up by using a variety of different scents so I would like to see strawberry kiwi or more tropical scents.

Honest Healing Balm     A+
This multipurpose healing balm does the trick to prevent diaper rash, nourish dry patches of skin, and heal minor cuts and scrapes. I love that it is made up of a plant-base extract and is fragrance free. I use this on Eden before bedtime. I put the healing balm on the areas where she has rough patches of dry skin. By morning, the area looks softer and moisturized. These product aren't just for babies.Even adults can use it! The healing balm is literally my go-to product when the edges of my hands are dry or my lips are chapped.

Honest Hand Soap     A-
The hand soap is composed of a plant-based formula and has an organic lemongrass scent. It smells fresh and clean. It takes the dirt and grime off our hands without leaving our hands overly dry. I wish the hand soap dispense as foam instead of liquid. Eden would really enjoy this because she just loves bubbles. Also, I hope they add more scents to the line.

Honest Laundry Detergent     A+

The laundry detergent works wonders for Eden and switching over to this detergent has helped with Eden's sensitive skin. I have tried many leading brand detergents and they don't live up to their name. The leading brands irritates her skin causing her to scratch non-stop. The Honest laundry detergent is non-toxic, fragrance free, and effective in taking the grime out of stubborn stains. I love that Eden's feeding bibs and play clothes looks a lot brighter and cleaner after using the detergent.

It would be great if they add fabric softener or dryer sheets to the line. I feel as if I'm missing a part of the laundry experience because I'm not getting that clean linen smell I'm used to because it is fragrance free. It'll just make folding laundry more enjoyable when you have get that kick of clean linen aroma on your clothes.

I would recommend the Honest Company to any family who is moving towards a more sustainable and eco-friendly lifestyle. I have seen the benefits of using these products on Eden and I can't tell you how great I feel knowing that I'm putting safe products on my daughter. Check out the Honest Company via fbook, twitter, or website to find out more information. If you have questions about their products, call the Honest support team at 1-888-862-8818. They have the best customer service and they're all about customer satisfaction. Their products are honestly amazing!

*I was not paid for this review and the opinions expressed are my own. 
Selected Images via Honest.com

Help Me Fundraise for March of Dimes

If you're in Fresno this weekend, come join me for the March of Dimes walk this weekend. The walk is held at Woodward Park on Saturday, April 14th, 2012. Come out and show your support for families and babies. This is an amazing foundation that raises money to fund research and programs in the community to help mothers have healthy, full-term pregnancies. But every day, thousands of babies are born premature and often very sick. The proceeds is used to care for babies in newborn intensive care. How amazing is that?

This is going to be my first year participating in the March of Dimes. In the past, I have volunteered with the 5K Bruin Run/Walk that benefits the Mattel Children's Hospital at UCLA. This year is a bit different though and supporting this worthy cause seeps closer to my heart in so many ways. As a first time mother, I understand the pain and endless worries moms have for their baby. Even when I was pregnant, I remember praying that my baby wouldn't come too soon and that God would bless me with a healthy baby.  As a mother, you do everything possible to achieve that. However, as much as you try to prevent what you can, fate takes its course and many mothers have to undergo a preterm birth. You have all this fear of the risk associated with premature babies like chronic health programs they may have and mortality rate going through your mind. It's scary to even think about that. But you do because you care for so much for this child inside of you. You just hope for a miracle.

Photo credits/photographer: Michael Clancy

Every time I think about miracle babies, I first think of my daughter, Eden. She is my miracle baby because of everything I've been through with my pregnancy. From finding out I was pregnant at week 27, I am so blessed by God to have such a healthy baby with no complications. Secondly, I always think about Baby Samuel who's picture has circulated all over Facebook a few months back. The picture is called, "Hand of Hope" and it's a virtual image showing the hand of a 21-week old fetus (Baby Samuel) grasping the fingers of a surgeon performing the prenatal operation. The image was taken in 1999 and I consider it to be the one of the best pictures ever taken to date. Baby Samuel was diagnosed with spina bifida and would not have survived unless he was taken out of the mother's womb. He is now 12 years old. He's a healthy boy and a survivor. When you look at this picture, how can you not get overwhelmed with joy at the amazement of life? It's truly incredible!

Please support March of Dimes by sponsoring me in this walk. I have provided a link to my sponsor page below. Whether your donation be $1, your lunch money,  or that roll of pennies lying on your bed stand, I greatly appreciate it! I know the economy isn't that great but my goal is to raise $50 for March of Dimes meaning that if I get 50 of my friends to donate $1, I will achieve my goal! Every bit helps to building a better future for our world. So do it for the BABIES!!!

Sponsor page: http://www.marchforbabies.org/hollyvu05

March of Dimes Walk

April 14, 2012
Woodward Park
7775 Friant Road
Fresno, CA 93710

Walk Distance: 3 miles
Registration Time: 8:00AM
Start Time: 9:00 AM
Chapter: Central Valley Division

Easter Sunday Fun Day!

Happy Easter everyone! Our weekend was amazing! What made it even better was that Eden and I were able to share our weekend with great company. My friends from UCLA came up to Fresno to visit us. I have been looking forward to this weekend for over a month. Let me tell you, I had everything planned down to the minute because I really wanted to savor every moment they were here. We talked about visiting each other since college graduation. I'm not exactly sure how we were able to make it happen this weekend despite everyone's crazy and hectic schedule, but we did and I'm so grateful for it.

They surprised me on Friday night. I heard the doorbell and immediately I ran to let them in. It was literally a college reunion at my door step. I let out an, "OMG, finally you're here!" Of course, I was jumping up and down and I grabbed each of them to gave em a bear hug (yes, I'm a hugger kind of gal). I was super excited and just couldn't keep it in. They could easily tell. (I wear my expression on my face, what can I say). A minute after our "hello"/"OMG" moment, they looked at me and said, "Where's the baby? We want to see the baby!" Mind you, they haven't seen her since birth when they visited me at the hospital so they were definitely due for a major visit. She woke up and they couldn't believe how big she got. We reminisced all night about our college days and caught up with pretty much everything. From there on, I knew our weekend had only just begun.

The friends helped me put together the Easter egg hunt and baskets. I even went hunting for the eggs myself. So fun. Gotta live out those childhood years. 

Eden was digging into her Easter basket. She collected about two eggs before she called the hunt quits. She was more interested in how the plastic eggs tasted after that. :)

Such a cute portrait of all of us. I'm so grateful to have amazing friends who are so supportive. This was right before they had to leave so I was crying inside.

One of the nights, we made homemade sushi. I was actually surprised how great they came out. My friends and I searched every single supermarket in Fresno to find seaweed wrap. Ok just two supermarkets. For some reason, Vons didn't carry seaweed wrap. That's just so disappointing. :(

Like I said, I went hunting for Easter eggs partly because Eden had settle for two eggs. It was fun. My friend, Armine got clever and tried to hide one of the eggs under a piece of moss. That would have been difficult for a 9-month old. LOL

The besties and Eden. They absolutely adore her. Even though Eden wasn't feeling well this weekend, she was still so happy to see them. The last night she unleashed her crying spell on and kept them up all night. Sorry guys! They were concerned for her and wanted to rock her to sleep. The best part of the weekend was having four extra pair of hands to help me take care of Eden. It was a glory win for me!

Dinner at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse

This weekend has been a blast and sadly it's coming to an end. It's Sunday already and back to work I go! Why does the weekend fly by so quickly? I guess when you're having fun, it tends to go by faster. The highlight of my weekend was having my kid brother visit me for Spring Break. He use to be a regular at my apartment when I was living down south and I would see him most weekends. Now that I moved back home, it takes careful planning to see his face around me. I'm so happy he came to visit us. Eden was excited to see her Tio Cheeny!

To celebrate my brother's arrival, my mom treated us out to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, which is an amazing five star restaurant in River Park. You know you're in a luxury restaurant when waitors are constantly sweeping the crumb off your table every time an entree is brought out. Talk about fine dining. The food was amazing by the way! Each of us got something different so we had a good variety of food. We had the crabtini and I thought it was so clever that they put a lemon in a mesh bag so that the seeds would get in your food. I ordered the salmon, which was so tender and flavorful. It was broiled to perfection My mom ordered the petite filet and shrimp. So good! My brother ordered the smoked scallops over cheesy plenta cakes. For dessert, we had this chocolate mousse cake with fresh fruit garnishing. It was happiness in your mouth! I totally recommend this place. The service was excellent. The manager even came out to ask us how we're doing. He asked if we would like a plate of fruit for the baby. Eden got a complementary fruit platter and she enjoyed it. Everything from the food to the service was five star! We left happy!