Blog Giveaway!

Now I know I'm new to the blogging community, but I'd like to try getting my page out there with a gift card giveaway! $25 Visa Gift Card to one blog follower!

Rules:

• Simply start following my blog.
• Next, comment on this post with something you would like to read about or see on the blog.
• Lastly, at the bottom of my blog page, follow the contact me link and shoot me an email with your name so I have your contact information easily accessible to contact you if you win. Your information WILL NOT be used for anything other than this giveaway. 
• Once I reach 50 followers, I will have a neutral friend of mine read through all of the comments to select the person with the most creative post idea. They will win the gift card, and I'll be sure to post on their idea, and others!
• There's no time limit on this. Once we reach 50 comments, we'll select a winner. Good Luck!

And please, remember to check back often to find some more great information and helpful tips!

Best Shopping Sites

Just to spread the word, as I do my late night shopping online. Some of the best shopping sites for baby, mommy, and home are listed below. You can get amazing deals at 30, 40, 50% off and sometimes more. They all update daily, at different times though; and if you check them daily, you can get some amazing brands like Petunia Pickle Bottom, Skip Hop, Baby Bjorn, BOB, Eyes Scream, Polo, My Blankee, etc. Love, Love, LOVE THEM! I did most of my christmas shopping on Zulily and Totsy. Amazing things for even more amazing deals. (I know this sounds like a pitch but it really isn't. I just live by these sites now!)

Zulily
Totsy
8Moms
Baby Steals
Plum District

One Kings Lane
Groupon
Living Social

Happy Shopping :)

Mommy Quick Tip

Every baby has a different preference in pacifier style. However, MAM seems to be popular. If baby is a MAM lover, once they start teething I recommend their AIR pacifier. It's missing the middle of each side so it's almost a frame with a middle and nipple... Greatest idea!

Easy for baby to hold
Helps minimize the rash from drool when teething
AND...
They will teethe on the sides of it

Around my area I've seen them in Babies R' Us, Target, and Safeway. There's 2 in a pack at about $5.99. Little pricey compared to others but a saver when it comes to teething!

Happy 3/4 Birthday to Mommy's Girl!

So, for her 9 months, I decided to make a cake. 3/4 of a cake actually!

I wish I thought of this sooner, so here's a cute photo opportunity for brand new momma's!

Bake a cake for 3, 6, 9, and 12 months. At 3 months only decorate a quarter of the cake, 6 months half a cake, 9 months 3/4 of a cake. Gets lots of pics for and with baby!!

Here's my horrible attempt for 10pm last night. While the cake turned out great with 1/4 cut out, my writing on the cake left nothing to be desired. But I tried!!

Mommy Money Sense!

Here's a simple suggestion from one mommy to all the others out there. I decided to get crafty before my little one was even a thought. I went out and spent $40 on a canning set by Ball.

My family plants an insane garden every year that overflows with fruits and veggies, so one year I took that canning set and made all types of preserves, tomato sauce, spaghetti sauce, zucchini & squash sticks, pie filling, etc. You name it, I made it. Granted this was in small test batches, but it worked amazingly.

Regardless of whether you have your own garden, or buy from your local produce stand or market, most of your fruits and veggies are going to be cheaper in the spring and summer when they are in season.

My recommendation, CAN, CAN CAN! When it comes to feeding babies, big families, big kids, anyone; you can't go wrong with canning up tomatoes, sauces, pie fillings, jams and preserves, anything! It will save so much money in the long run then buying everything pre-made, packaged, and out of season.

This topic comes about because it's on my list of things to do in the next couple of weeks. I'm going to start with preserves. They're so easy to make, and the house always smells amazing after!

Happy Eating! This little monster loves to eat!

Baby Sleep

So my little one decided to pick up on this new habit over the past week. She's decided now that she can crawl, pull herself up, and walk along something she's holding on to, she thinks that she's on a roll and refuses to sleep at night.

Regardless of how tired she is, how red her little eyes her, and how profusely she's rubbing at said eyes, she just absolutely refuses to lay down. Mommy has now resorted to the... comfort her 3 times, now let her cry it out method. This has work to much avail in that she just cries herself to sleep.

On top of that last night, she decided to be brave and let go of the crib railing when she was standing up and ended up falling backward and smacking her little head on the back of the crib.

We have her 9 month appointment on Wednesday next week and I'm going to talk to him then about tactics for sleep. Back when we were kids we cried ourselves through everything! I don't know how my mother did it, because my husband has to be the brave one and keep me from going in the room to pick her up.

I know that this is aside from the topic of my blog, but I figure every bit of parenting stories and advice helps. I'm hoping to have an update in a few days with a solution to this madness that doesn't leave her crying, and mommy wrenching!



MX38EWM2A5QD - Technorati

Easy Baby Meal

So I ran out of time today to get up the big posts I wanted to share... but here's a small tidbit to get through until tomorrow...

Baby protein. Many moms are nrevous about giving pureed chicken to their kids. I great alternative for those that want to make baby food at home:

Pacific Foods Chicken & Wild Rice - It's organic which I prefer, but you can use any pre-made all natural soup. Strain the juices into a seperate bowl, put the soup in a food processor, and add in a little juice as you blend to get a good consistency. Worked amazingly! And I got about a weeks worth of dinner for a $3 container of soup!


Another bonus, it's fast and easy for working mom's, or mom's that just don't have as much time to prepare food... and it's fast, quick, and easy! And baby loves it!!

The Bumbo Chair - Please Use it Right!

I had one of these seats that my daughter loved! When I was using it, before the recent articles, it was always to the manufacturers recommendations, and my baby was never left unattended, nor on a high surface alone. This is the biggest problem is that most people leave their child on a high surface using it, or they leave them in another room unsupervised with it.

PLEASE! IF YOU USE A BUMBO ALWAYS STAY WITH YOUR BABY!

Below is a news article from February about the more frequent incidents involving the bumbo chair.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/retail/story/2012-02-09/bumbo-baby-seats-safety/53032746/1

Again, I neither support nor un-support the use of the bumbo chair. I just ask that those that do use it, use it correctly. And no matter the baby gear you use, do not leave you baby in a room unattended unless he or she is sleeping in their bed.

My Current Top 3 Baby Savers!!

So with 9 months past there's so much to catch up on, but I feel like I have to start with my current 3 best buys for my little punkin. I've made suggestions to friends and family after trying each of them out, and I have to say, it's been an all around 'love it' review!

No specific categories... I'm just going to call it my 'baby savers!' for functionatlity, amount of usage, convenience, and price. And I promise you, these 3 are not my only ones, or my last ones.

1) The Baby Beaba Baby Food Maker
     http://www.beabausa.com/product-babycook.php

• This thing is pricey, I will first admit to. $100 to $150 depending on whether you get a green or purple model. And this doesn't include the load of accessories you can get like rice steamers, freezer containers, seasoning balls, tablewear, carrying case, etc. HOWEVER... you can make sure you get your moneys worth out and then some. I promise that!
• I use this for everything, from making fruits and veggies at stage 1, to simple blending at nearly 9 months, on to steaming rice, and making soups for my little monster to eat. This is only for baby though. I have also used it to make smoothies for myself, salsa for my husband and I, and steaming individual portions of veggies for mommy and daddy meal time.
• VERY easy to clean up. The blade is easy to pop one and off, and it stores so simply into such a small space. (The carrying case is completely worth it for the added money FYI)
• Depending on your food choice, you can make up to a weeks worth of food at one time.
• The best part... it's a steamer and processor in one! One mess, and when you have kids, or you're a working mom, you need the easiest method possible at times!

2) Kolcraft 2 - in - 1 Walker
     http://www.kolcraft.com/baby-products/baby-walkers-activity-centers/kolcraft/step-startertm-2-in-1-walker.html

• This handy little thing is an easy $50, and many times you can catch it on sale at most big name stores for 15 - 20% off. (Babies R' Us is notorious for 20% of walkers every other month!)
• Overall... The fact that it converts from a walker the baby sits in to a walker the baby pushes makes it $25 a use, which is much better than buying individually, and it has adorable little owls to make it cute!
• Beyond easy to assemble and fold back down for storage, lights and sounds activity bar to entertain the little one, and the wheels are made of an soft rubber which makes it easy for them to move in, and won't damage any flooring.
• Why did I choose this? I spent nearly $100 on a jumper for my little one at Christmas time. While she loved it, it wore off kind of fast after a couple of months, and for the price, there isn't much she can do with it now. By all means, if you have one of those bouncing babies that loved the movement the jumper would be great, and I recommend the Animal Krackers Fisher Price Jumparoo, but when you look into money savings, and versatility, not to mention the small space the walker takes up, I would definitely recommend the walker!

3) Manhattan Toys Classic Baby Beads
    http://www.manhattantoy.com/product/296210/210670/_/Classic_Baby_Beads

• These amazing little wooden balls are the greatest kids toy I have ever found! I came across them when I was getting an Easter Basket at Pottery Barn Kids. (They can be ordered through Manhattan Toys, and many other stores if you search online.) They just looked like something fun and I got them on sale for $10. BEST $10 I'VE EVER SPENT!
• My daughter is obsessed with these little things. It's just a group of maybe 10 - 12 painted wooden beads on an elastic band. They roll around, shake around, flip and flop. You can slip them on their ankles, wrists, they love it! They make noise, are bright and colorful. I don't know which element it is that attracts kids to these but they love them. Kids will see her playing with them in the mall, or when someones babysitting, and they take them and run to play for themselves. I started giving them out as gifts since they're so popular in my circle.
• The biggest benefit in my opinion... it's a classic wooden toy. Most kids don't enjoy these types of toys anymore, so when I find out that will still catch their eye, it definitely catches mine!

If you have any great toys, baby gear, accessories, anything you want to share then please send me an email. I'd love to hear what you have or have seen and give it a try! My email is at the bottom of the blog to contact.

Ready... Set... Go!

I have searched site after site looking for those little things to help a mommy out.

Sales
Activites
Cooking
Gear
Everything!

I've managed to combine the efforts of many blogs, sites, reviews, and foremost, my own personal experience with 3 younger siblings, and 8 younger cousins I was raised looking after, and now a baby girl of my own... and I've created this amazing world around my daughter with time tested tricks, oldie but goodie toys, the best of todays baby gear, new ideas, and everything in between!

The one and only purpose of the blog is to share anything I have to help other mommy's out there... and hopefully get some great followers that would love to share along with me!

Now I have a lot to post to start this out as my daughter is now almost 9 months old already... but I'm going to try and get it done in a week, so be sure to check back each day while I'm playing catch-up from the last 9 months!