My Kid Is Cooler Than Your Kid

Why? Because she listens to Coldplay instead of Brahms...I'm just saying. That's pretty cool.

My sister first told me about the Rockabye Baby Music - then I got a cd of it from my cute niece - love it!

After a couple of years of hearing the same lullabys night after night over the monitor - this was a much needed breath of fresh air. Don't like Coldplay? They've also re-done Metallica, The Beatles, The Cure, Green Day, No Doubt, Radiohead, Smashing Pumpkins, U2, Weezer - and others!

I wish I had a giveaway or coupon code to post - but I don't. Just something I love and wanted to pass on. You can listen to little blips of each song on each cd on the site.

Confessions of a Germaphobe

Yep - I'm a germaphobe. Are you? It's gotten worse now that I have small children too. I disinfect everything weekly and if someone is sick we don't see them until well after they're better. Unless they don't tell us they're sick and show up unannounced and insist on hugging Little Miss...you know who you are. So rude. Anyway...

My germaphobe-ness (just made up that word) has led to a brilliant discovery! You can only continue reading if you promise to laugh and then try it yourself....

I wash my hands ridiculous amounts of times. Every time we come home we wash. Just before we eat we wash. After taking Little Miss potty I wash. After changing Mr Man's bum I wash. And the list goes on. And with the added bonus of it being winter my hands are like sandpaper! Poor husband has to hold sandpaper hands. It was getting so bad that the skin in between each finger was cracking and bleeding on a regular basis.

I found an old lotion sample, threw it in my purse, and started using it whenever I remembered. Aquaphor by Eucerin. Grease-fest! After leaving an entire hand print on the chiropractor table (so gross - I promised him it was lotion, not sweat) - I decided I would only use it right before bed. And a miracle happened - I woke up every morning with super soft hands that lasted almost the entire day. Too good to be true.

When my sample was out I went to wal-mart to buy more. But, stopped off at the baby aisle to grab some A&D bum cream for Mr Man first. You'll never guess what I saw there - Baby Aquaphor by Eucerin...bum cream?! Same bottle - all they did was add the "Baby". I took that bottle with me to the lotion aisle and compared ingredients...exactly the same! But, if purchased in bum cream form it was a lot cheaper.

So...every night I apply a nice slather of bum cream to my hands. =) No joke. My hands are super soft and surviving the winter great! I've even had a couple of people mention how soft my hands are - which hasn't happened f.o.r.e.v.e.r! Awesome.

That's my confession - I use bum cream on my hands as lotion. You should try it - you'll like it!

Maylee's Boutique

L.O.V.E.  T.H.I.S.  S.T.O.R.E!!

A couple of weeks ago we blessed the Little Man in this adorable outfit....

It was exactly what I had been looking for and at an awesome price!

We, of course, procrastinated a little - and a week before the baby blessing finally decided to buy an outfit. I ordered it the Sunday before, it was shipped that Monday, and I received it the Thursday before the blessing. Wow. Talk about pushing it.

I was worried about not getting it in time, so before purchasing, shot an email to them - they responded super quick and were so nice guaranteeing that it would be there in time.

Here's just a taste of what else they have to offer...did I mention the prices are awesome!? Cause they are...check out Maylee's Boutique for yourself!

Stages of Waking or Why I Love the Miracle Blanket

Ever heard of the Miracle Blanket? I hadn't until my niece clued me in last December. Sure could have used this thing with Little Miss - she had to be swaddled to sleep until she was 9 months old, and she was quite an escape artist. This would've saved us.

Let me show you how it works...backwards, while my Mr Man wakes up....isn't he cute sleeping so soundly?

This is the miracle blanket (one size fits all)...looks like a little baby straight jacket...

...and it is...

There is a rather long piece of material off to the left side that wraps around your child a couple of times to keep them snug...

Then there are the arm flaps - which we don't actually use properly yet because Mr Man is just not strong enough to break free. However, as your child gets older you wrap the flap around the arm and under the torso. This way the weight of the child actually keeps the arms down by their sides.

And as you get unwrapped - you have to stretch...

...and stretch...

...and get mauled by your older sister...

To see a video of how it works - click here. I ordered mine from walmart.com and it was worth every penny!!

My Bum Book

I have the worst memory. Always have. And to make matters worse - I now have what's known as "mom brain"...Every mom, or expectant mom, can attest - when you get pregnant you just get dumb. Making, having, and raising babies zaps your brain cells! Pretty soon you're fumbling over your own words and can't remember what you ate for breakfast. It's kind of ridiculous.

I keep a daily journal, and that helps. I've been able to go back and read through my pregnancy with Little Miss and compare it to this pregnancy. One thing I wish I would've had though - this little beauty...

My Bum Book by bumble

It is adorable! It's just little and will easily fit in a diaper bag or purse. I'm super excited to use it with baby #2 come February! Keeping track of feedings, changings, and well check stats - all of these things make my left brain dance for joy! It even has a spot on every page for random notes - like first smile, first time he'll roll over. Sure wish I'd had this with Little Miss!

You can get your own Bum Book here.

It's a Habit, Sammy Rabbit!

Ever wondered when or how to teach your child about the value of hard work and saving money? It was so much easier when everyone lived on a farm - children learned first hand the value of hard work and the immediate benefit of storing up for the winter. Now, as parents, we almost have to create situations for our kids to learn these values.

Learning the value of saving money and not going into debt at a young age is so important nowadays - so many people are in over their heads trying to keep up with the Jones' & kids are increasingly more aware of what their friends have and they don't.

The author of "It's a Habit, Sammy Rabbit" contacted me with some great information and books to use with Little Miss. The book is a nice easy read and definitely not over her head. The coloring book and stickers are of course a hit. As my husband says - "if toddlers ruled the world, our universal currency would be stickers". The audio CD is very fun too. Little Miss loves it - it's super dancy! And not annoying like most kid CD's are.

So beyond paying our kids for chores (which I don't exactly agree with, but that's for another post)...these workbooks are a great resource to help our kids learn about the value of money and the importance of saving it. Although Little Miss enjoys the book, she's still a tad too young to "get it" completely. This would be great for kids age 5-7.


Check out some more reviews here.

See all the Sammy Rabbit workbooks here.


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3 Bags Full Puppet Pouch + Bicycle Man

I love fair trade crafts! I love that it is a unique item Little Miss can play with that wasn't produced in a factory with cheap parts. Fair trade crafts are handmade by women overseas with care.

I love that it's fair trade because that means these women are getting good money for their handy work! So...fun, unique toy for Little Miss + helping women in other countries make money to support their families. It's a win-win!

Our latest fair trade craft is a 3 Bags Full Finger Puppet Pouch. Little Miss has had this toy for about a month and loves it!


Inside a hand painted bag are 8 puppets. There are snaps on the scene & the puppets so we can move them around as we tell stories.

The pouch came with a list of books we could get from the library to help the creative juices of story telling start to flow.

I love that it came with a list of books! I would've never thought to go out and find some with the appropriate animals. Any educational toy is a winner with me.

Plus the snaps are good practice for Little Miss's motor skills. She even learned about a new animal with this pouch - the porcupine. Isn't he cute?!

This toy is nice and quiet and has become a staple to keep Little Miss entertained at church. It also helped motivate her during the first few days of potty training because we would only play with it while she sat on the potty. My stories got very animated and silly. This encouraged more potty time.

Another fair trade item we love - Little Miss's "bicycle man". My sister purchased this from a local store that sells fair trade items. It is probably one of the cutest things I've ever seen. Working wheels and legs that pedal. Little Miss insists on taking him on walks and pushes him all over the house and outside on nice days.

Not sure if there is a fair trade store near you? There probably is - you just have to search a little! Or go here and check out the 3 Bags Full Puppet Pouch! I love the farm, jungle, and ocean pouches too...I'll probably have to add those to our collection someday.

Bebe Spy-Cam

Also known as, the Bebe Sounds Portable Color Video and Sound Monitor - but we like to call it our spy-cam. This was probably one of the best purchases we ever made.

If you've read the Sleep Chronicles, then you know how difficult sleep training was for us & this little wonder made all the difference!

While sleep training we could see what Little Miss was doing and if she needed us or if she was calming down on her own. This way we didn't go in to her room and spoil things too early.

I love that we can see her and make sure she's safe at any moment, and when we just want the sound - we can flip the video off to save the (rechargeable) battery.

The camera can be mounted on the wall. Love the infrared night vision, so we can see our little darling in the dark - although the glowing eyes when she's awake are a little freaky. =)

And to top off the awesomeness - you can have two cameras plugged in to the same receiver! And your video will switch every five seconds between kids. Can't wait to use this feature when we have our next little bug!

There is the usual interference with cell phones and such, but nothing bad. You just have to reposition. The only thing I don't like is the range it has - you really can't live in a huge house and have this thing work. But for us - it's been great!

For less than half price we bought ours on kids.woot.com.

You can find one here.

*If you're worried about people driving around your neighborhood with a receiver and being able to see your baby - don't be! Remember the poor reception. There's no way someone could pick up the signal outside your home!

Aquadoodle Travel N' Doodle

We got the Aquadoodle Travel N' Doodle for Little Miss for Christmas with one thing in mind...keeping her entertained & fairly quiet during church, long car rides, anytime she needs to sit still and not make a lot of noise.

Let me just say...I love you Aquadoodle!! So far it has worked like a charm. I love that the pen is filled with tap water - that way she can't do any damage if she colors on other things. I like that it's a toy that can grow with her.

Her favorite way to use the Aquadoodle right now - she uses the pen to paint her nails, my nails, sometimes daddy's nails. Such a girl.

The only thing I've heard, but not experienced first hand, is if the mat gets soaked, completely wet, it gets ruined. So make sure you don't let your little one take it in the bathtub and all should be fine!

Oh, and toddlers have a tendency to want to use crayons on it - which doesn't come off. We learned that the hard way.

Only $15 - totally worth it (we found ours at Wal-mart - but for some reason they don't have it online)

Product Reviews

Bebe Sounds Portable Color Video and Sound Monitor

Aquadoodle Travel N' Doodle

Kelty Kids Hiking Backpack Kid Carrier with Rainhood

Kelty Kids Hiking Backpack

Ry & I love to be outdoors, especially in the summertime. Our weekends are filled with hiking, camping, fly-fishing (mostly I watch), river rafting - all the good stuff. This summer we have a new challenge - a one year old. And we found the perfect solution - a Kelty Kids pack.
Much to our delight our picky little girl, who usually wants to walk everywhere now that she found her legs, loved the pack!

As long as Ry kept moving she was loving it! So much that he took her hiking again on Monday morning! He said on Monday she was singing while in her pack (her happy noises), then the singing got a little quieter - soon he looked back and realized she was singing in her sleep while hiking. Silly girl!

The packs are usually pretty expensive - we found ours used online & would highly recommend it to anyone! Well worth it!

The Reviews