The Dangerous of Pinterest...

I am OBSESSED!  I can't stop checking pinterest.  It's a sickness.  The side effects include thinking I'm richer than I am, thinking my house is bigger than it is, and thinking that I am craftier than I could ever be.  Today's problem has to do with the craftiness, or lack there of.

Thanks to all of the adorable and quote "easy" crafts that you can find on pinterest, I am currently preparing my list for JoAnn Fabrics.  My goal today is to make not one, but two, holiday related crafts for my little monkeys.

Project 1:

This adorable felt Christmas tree is going to be my attempt to keep the kids off of the real one.  Probably not going to work, but hey, if nothing else, it will look cute on our glass sliders...

Project 2:



Not only am I going to attempt to make this precious shirt for my little Bean, but I'm also going to attempt to make a few for the other special little ladies in my life.  We shall see how this goes.  I promise to share the results even if they are disastrous!

Oh boy, I have so much more I want to share, but Bean is currently attempting to redecorate our real tree - off to intervene!  Happy Thursday all! :)

Christmas Crazies Have Begun!!

Oh my goodness!  It is that time of year when parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. all begin going CRAZY trying to find the perfect gifts for their loved ones.  I am guilty of it too.  I want my kids' faces to light up when they see that Santa really listened all year long and (hopefully!) got them their most requested toys!

The problems begin when there are millions of people who all want the SAME toy for their kids!  I will never understand it, but for some reason, the toy companies just don't produce enough of the "it" toys, and thus begin full blown wars over the few products that can be found.

This year, it appears that this little beauty is the toy causing people to push, punch, or pepper spray each other in the Walmart parking lot.

My kids are both getting these for xmas.  I bought my son's green one in August, and then in October, decided that my daughter needed one too, and was easily able to score a pink one.  Now, however, their $99.99 price tag has rocketed to more than double the price by people on ebay trying to make money on a little kid's wish list.  (Ugh!)

So, anyway, I have found a few tricks that should help you get a leappad if you so desire...I was able to help some friends and family with these websites.

Wiialerts.com is the site that I have personally had the most success with. 

If you leave this page open on your computer, it will actually ding and open up the site in your browser when the product you are looking for is in stock.  I have noticed that Amazon gets these leappads listed at least 2-3 times a day, and this is where I scored 2 this week.  Keeping the website up is the most important part of this.  Amazon does get the supply, but it literally sells out in minutes.  Usually 1 -2 minutes.  (Craziness!)

Another site that is very similar, and also works well is zoolert.com. 

Zoolert, (as well as Wiialerts) will email you or text you when the item you are looking for comes back in stock.  My daughter is (thankfully!) too young for these Lalaloopsy Dolls (which I keep thinking are called Lalapaloosy - sounds better, right? lol), but apparently these are a hot item too.  Wiialerts and Zoolert have you covered here as well.



Personally, I would pick online shopping over the malls any time of the year, but especially during the holidays.  If you are having trouble finding a certain something, check these sites out. 

FYI - I have absolutely nothing to gain from sharing these sites with you, except that maybe it will make your holidays a little bit easier.  I thought that sharing them might help some of you out, so I went with it.  :)  Hope you find them useful!!  

Valco Baby Universal Cup Holder {Review & Giveaway}

I have many jobs, but my first (and most important!) is as a stay at home mom to two beautiful babies.  During the holiday season, these sweet little things are usually found being dragged around the mall with me as I search for the million gifts I need (& want!) to buy. 

There are two things that keep me sane in the mall, in December, with my children – my double stroller and my cup of coffee.  Unfortunately, my stroller and I are NOT besties.  (FYI - I do not have a Valco Baby Stroller, unfortunately!) One reason for our differences, is its lack of a cup holder.  I have purchased many add-on cup holders, including the one made “specifically” for my stroller, and I hate them all!  My stroller and I both usually end up covered in coffee.  

Not.  Cool.

I have had my eye on a new stroller for some time now, but when Valco Baby very generously offered to send me a Universal Cup Holder to test out, I decided to hold off.  ValcoBaby has saved the day!

I am in LOVE with my new cup holder.  It is the first attachment that I have tried that not only holds almost any size cup, but it actually keeps it from spilling, and/or falling out!  Check this out…

It is super easy to install this cup holder, but to be honest, it did take me two tries to get it as tight as I wanted it.  (Trust me, this was 100% user-related malfunction.  I didn’t really read the instructions…)  Once it was on, it didn’t move, except when I pressed the button that made it swivel until I felt it was level.

You can see just how tight I was able to get it.  It is actually smooshing the foam on the handlebars, which is fine with me!  I wanted it to be that tight, because I am always afraid that my drink is going to tilt and spill and burn my babies. 

I tested the holder with all different types of cups, and it held each one securely.  Sometimes I have to lift my stroller to get the kids over curbs, or around crowded stores, and I am confident that I can do this without having to worry about my cup holder swinging back and forth.

Here are a few of the cups that I tested.  Luckily the holder has prongs on the inside that adjust to the size of your cup.  I was able to get everything from a small kid’s cup from a restaurant to my huge reusable mug into the cup holder and I still had room.

Being a suburban mom, my stroller is pretty much stored in my trunk.  I have had so many cup holders that as soon as I fold my stroller, pop right off.  It is extremely frustrating to be in a parking lot in 20 degree weather, trying to attach a cup holder.  I am happy to report that when I folded it, and threw the stroller into my trunk, the Valco Baby Universal Cup Holder stayed put and stayed straight!!  I didn’t even have to adjust it when I took it out of the trunk.   (Note:  As you can see from the pic below, the cup holder does protrude a little from the side of the stroller.  I have been careful not to lay the stroller down on that side.)

So, I am happy to report, that with 20 days left to shop for Christmas, I am able to keep my kids strapped in, AND have my coffee while navigating the insanity of the mall!  THANK YOU Valco Baby for making my life sooo much easier this holiday season!!

Oh, and guess what?!  Because they are so incredibly generous, they sent me, not one, but two cup holders!  Instead of putting one on each side of my stroller, like I really want to, I’m going to give one away to one of my fabulous readers!  Here’s the deal…

This giveaway will begin immediately following the publishing of this post.  It will end Friday, December 9^th, 2011 at 11:59pm, and the winner will be announced on Saturday, December 10^th, 2011.  To enter (up to 6 times) complete the following steps:

• ·        You must be a follower of this blog in order to enter.  If you are already a follower, leave a comment stating so.  If you are a new follower, leave a comment you sign up.  {1 entry}
• ·         Follow @caronjnp on Twitter for an additional entry.  Leave a comment below stating your Twitter name once you have done this.  {1 entry}
• ·         Like Valco Baby on Facebook.  Leave a comment here when you do.  {1 entry}
• ·         Follow @valcobaby on Twitter and you guessed it…leave a comment here. {1 entry}
• ·         Tweet about this giveaway with a link to this blog post, then leave a comment with a copy/paste of your tweet.  {1 entry}
• ·         Share this giveaway via Facebook with a link to this post and leave a comment here.  {1 entry}

Good luck and happy entering!

Disclosure:  I was not compensated for this review.  This post reflects MY opinions only.  Vaclo Baby provided the universal cup holder for review and for the giveaway.

Going Green & Saving Green

                                                                      

We all know that “going green” is the “chic” thing these days.  Most of us recycle, some of us up-cycle, and even fewer of us make huge lifestyle changes to help protect the earth, like installing solar panels in our homes, or switching to electric cars.  Realistically, going green can often be extremely costly, and although it sounds nice in theory, it isn’t always accessible.  The upfront cost of some of these projects is often way out of reach.

So, how about an option that not only helps you go green (without shelling out a ton of cash up front), but also saves you some green. 

Cloth diapering is making a comeback in a big way.  I know…it sounds pretty awful.  But trust me, it’s really not that bad.  I used disposable diapers with my son, and at the time all of my friends used them as well.  By the time that I was pregnant with my daughter, I had quite a few friends using cloth diapers and raving about them.  I was still super hesitant…it seemed like a diaper service to clean them would be very expensive in my area, and I really wasn’t sure how I felt about all that poop in my washing machine.  I was also scared that I would do it wrong.  It seemed kind of complicated!  I didn’t know if I needed inserts, or liners, or covers, or all-in-ones.  I didn’t know what a “wet bag” was, or where to get one.  There were so many brands, with so many types of diapers that I felt overwhelmed, so I stuck with disposables until my daughter was about 6 weeks old.

Out of nowhere, she came down with a terrible diaper rash.  The worst I had ever seen.  The poor kid cried uncontrollably every time that I changed her diaper.  I tried over the counter lotions, prescription lotions, I left her without a diaper whenever I could, I even skipped wipes as much as possible and used warm water on a wash cloth to clean her, but nothing helped.  I was desperate!  I had a gift card from my shower that I still hadn’t spent, so I ordered two cloth diaper covers and a dozen inserts, and within a week her bottom was all cleared up and she was happy as clam.  As soon as she was feeling better, I ordered enough cloth diaper supplies so that she would never have to wear a disposable again.

One of the best brands that I found was Bambino Mio.  The covers are soft and slim fitting, the inserts are pre-folded, and the brand sells everything that you need to cloth diaper, including nappy detergent, diaper pails, and birth to potty training sets that set you up for as long as you need diapers.

They also have super cute designs, and let’s be honest, that’s important too!

Check out these adorable covers.  

Cloth diapering is not for everyone, but the benefits are extremely appealing.  There are huge savings to consider, less diaper rash, reports that cloth diapers lead to earlier potty training, and of course, less waste filling up our landfills and harming our earth.

So, if cloth diapering is something you do, something you are considering, or something that you want to help a fellow mommy get started with, check out the new Bambino Mio supplies that ODIZ Baby Supply is carrying.

I originally published this blog post for ODIZ Baby Supply at http://odiz.biz/blog/2011/12/02/going-green-saving-green/ .

A Little Something for My Fellow Disney Fanatics

I apologize for another Pinterest post, but I saw this and just had to share it for all my Disney loving friends.  My only complaint is that they use the word "even" in the title...it should absolutely be omitted!!

Definitely some of my favorite movies and characters, but I must say, becoming a mom has made these all a little more real for me.  I cried when I watched The Lion King the other day.  A lot.  I do NOT remember it being so sad!

Before I start thinking about it and the water works start again, let me share some exciting bloggy news.  Valco Baby sent me an awesome package today, with a fun new product for me to review, and one for me to give away!  Woo hoo!  My semester is almost over, and as soon as I am done grading all of the papers piling up on my desk, I will have not one, but TWO giveaways coming to you!  With that being said, I am off to browse some online stores get some work done.  :)  Goodnight all!

More from Pinterest...'Cause I Just Can't Get Enough

I seriously can not get enough of Pinterest because I often need to be reminded of things like this

or this



so that I can be this

.

What a fabulous invention Pinterest is.  I can go spend five minutes looking at all kinds of beautiful people, places, and words, and feel inspired for the day.  I love repinning all of these amazing little finds and keeping my own log of how I want to be, where I want to be, and why I need to stop and enjoy every moment.

I'm thinking that I need to post about my Pinterest finds a little more often, but don't worry, I won't always make it serious.  In fact, most often I'll probably be sharing things like this...



With a dash of things like this

.

You know, just to keep things even.  ;)

Kiinde Kozii

I originally wrote this post for ODIZ Baby Supply, but because the Kiinde is so amazing, I had to share it here as well! Enjoy :)

When my son was 4 months old, I had to return to work for 8 weeks before becoming a stay-at-home-mom.  I am extremely blessed in the family department, and my parents were able to save all of their vacation days to stay with my little man during that time.  They were so wonderful about all of my first time mom neurosis and did everything I asked when it came to feeding little P.  My biggest concern was always how they warmed up the hundreds of bags of frozen breast milk that were taking over my freezer.

My first rule was always NO microwave!  I had done my reading and I knew that the microwave could leave hot spots in the baby’s bottle, and that it could destroy all of the nutrients that I was trying so hard to get into my baby’s tiny tummy.   I was also adamant that they not use the bottle warmer.  This was right around the time that all of the information about BPA was coming out, and in addition to that worry, I still was super concerned with keeping the milk full of all of its natural nutrients.

Because they are so unbelievably wonderful, they listened to me, agreed with me, and warmed the bags of milk that I left them in little glass bowls of warm tap water.  If you have ever tried this, it is painstakingly tedious.  You have to replace the water with fresh warm water every 30 seconds or so, and it takes about 15 minutes to get the milk to about room temperature.  (15 minutes can feel like 15 hours when you have a hungry baby on your hands!)

Oh how I wish that when P was little the Kiinde Kozii was around! 

The Kiinde Kozii is made specifically for warming breast milk!  The Kozii uses a water bath that is specifically designed to thaw breast milk safely in any type of bottle or bag.  Yes, a “bottle” warmer that can defrost your milk in its storage bag without destroying the nutrients or exposing the bag (or bottle!) to dangerous steam or microwaves!  The Kozii uses water that is equivalent in temperature to warm tap water, but doesn’t compromise the speed of the defrosting.  Because the bag sits in a circulating bath, the milk is warmed evenly, without creating hot spots. 

Another feature that amazes me is that when the Kozii timer goes off, the warming is stopped completely because the bath water is drained into the reservoir.  So, if you put a bag of milk in, and then your baby has a blowout diaper, blowout tantrum, or any other kind of blowout, and you forget that you began warming the milk, it’s no problem!  The milk will still be safe, your house will still be safe, and your baby’s meal will be waiting for them.

I love the instructions that Kiinde provides on their website.

So simple!  Even your husband can do it! ;)  (I kid, I kid!  I promise!) So anyway, why am I telling you all about this amazing product???  Because ODIZ is about to start carrying them, and as one of our fabulous Facebook fans or blog readers, (**Or if you are kind enough to read my blog!**) you are going to get a chance to grab one before anyone else!  Even better – you can get your hands on one for a lot cheaper than anyone else! ODIZ will begin selling the Kiinde Kozii to the public on December 1st, but between now and then, you can order one by calling us at 770-755-9086 or emailing Christine at admin@odiz.biz .  The Kiinde retails for between $70 .00 - $120.00, but with this special one week offer, you can grab it for $59.99!  Unfortunately for me, both of my children are past the bottle stage, but you can guarantee this will be going on my must have baby shower list!  Quantities are limited and this is not valid with any other offers or promotions.  Remember, this deal is only good until December 1, 2011.  Happy Holiday Shopping! **PS:  A little secret for my friends and family out there reading this...Saturday is Small Business Saturday and ODIZ is a participating retailer...if you order this Saturday, and use your AMEX, you will get a $25 statement credit from American Express, which means, you will be getting this bad boy for $29.99.  That is an unbelievable deal!!**