happy vday: give rose petals

It's easy to call a florist and order a dozen red roses for Valentines Day. But you'll know you're extra special if your significant other presents you with some of the luxurious products from the One With Nature Rose Petal Collection. The body wash ($8.99), hand wash ($7.99), body lotion ($9.99) and bar soap ($4.49) are all infused with a blend of rose essential oils, plant based fragrances, natural minerals and salts from the Dead Sea. I gave the bar soap to my mom to display in her guest bathroom and put the hand wash and lotion in my kids' bathroom. They love the pearly liquid soap--it makes them wash their hands longer--and get a kick out of the dab of lotion I let them smooth on afterward. (I kept the body wash for myself!) The bottom line: Everyone comes up smelling like roses! All One With Nature products are available at Whole Foods and at www.onewithnature.com.

fight swine flu: wash your hands!

If you spend your days out and about, you know the value of having a travel size hand cleanser in your diaper bag. The playground, playgroups, classes and kid-friendly restaurants are all great places to find much unwanted germ-fests. And with the prospect of the swine flu looming, you have one more major reason to keep your bag well-stocked. There are a ton of hand sanitizers on the market, so you may think it's tough to find one that's right for your baby. Try the Instant Hand Cleanser ($6 for the small bottle; $16 for the large bottle) from the Thymes Sweetleaf Baby Collection. The product line features honey to moisturize, organic aloe barbadensis leaf extract to soothe and heal, organic chamomile extract to calm and organic lavender extract with anti-bacterial properties to help babies relax. The best part: Sweetleaf Hand Cleanser has a delicate, powdery rose and jasmine scent that smells as soft and sweet as your baby does. Pick one up at www.thymes.com or a specialty store near you.