Personalized Stickers

Personalized stickers have been added to my Etsy shop.  I hope to make more patterns and animals soon!  These are designed for 2-inch round weatherproof stickers.  They come on a sheet of 20 for $9.99.

Printed on a standard home, ink-jet printer (that does very well I might add - MK's haven't lost any ink so far).  They are set to bleed off the edges a bit to ensure to no gutter around the sticker.

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MK and her City Mini

For those of you that I bragged about our Peg Perego to - I lied to you. It is not the greatest stroller ever. It broke in three places within two weeks after just three months of use. So, it went to the Buy Buy Baby in the sky (which thanks to them for taking back even though was purchased at Christmas) and we brought back a fab stroller that I hope will serve us better - the Baby Jogger City Mini GT. An actual jogging stroller that has the extras sold separately. It rides MUCH smoother, is just as compact, has the same amount of storage, better back support for MK and it's just cool :) We bought the child compartment for toys and snacks, and the parent compartment for mommy's drink and iPhone. Next addition will be the cooler that straps to the bottom come football season!

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Stella's New Bracelets

Love Love Love. I have never been a big bracelet fan until my mom let me borrow these. I hate the way bracelets always hit the desk when I typed on the computer - I dislike it so much I don't even wear a watch. But, I decided to get over it and embrace the bracelet. I wear these all the time now.

The Lindsey Bangle

Eleanor Bracelet

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Random Things I've Learned as a New Mom

Velcro bibs can velcro to other things in the wash. Get snap bibs or invest in a few delicates wash bags.
Don't bother buying a video camera. Use the one on your phone. They won't do the cute things when the video camera is out, nor will they keep doing it long enough for you to go find your video camera. Save the money for an iPad :)

Quit carrying your Coach and Louis bags once baby can grab - one they can pull it towards them, they can spit up in it :)

Baby help books pushed me over the edge and made me a nervous wreck (Babywise, etc).  As soon as I put them away, MK fell into a schedule that worked for us and she started sleeping through the night. Her routine goes against everything those books say to do, but yet she still sleeps at least nine hours at night.

Quit wearing necklaces and dangly earrings - especially nice ones. My sweet MK tried to strangle me with one of my Stella and Dot necklaces one day.

If you live in the South, install a clip fan that points at your baby's carseat. You will have many less migraines. A cool baby is a happy baby.

You will have to let your baby cry at some point - your restroom schedule and baby's napping schedule won't always coincide.

Clip fingernails when asleep only.

The baby will indeed sleep eventually. However it may not be before you lose your sanity.

Incorporate brown into the colors of your nursery - and use brown as your changing table pad. You'll be grateful.

Two words: Sleep Sheep.  A fabulous toy that induces comas.

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It's a 10!

Love this hair sprtiz.  It does 10 things all in one bottle. The best things it does for me detangle, act as a leave-in conditioner, and protects from heat products.  It's pricey, but to me completely worth it.

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Apptivity Case

We all know babies love to put their hands on your cell phone.  But they drool, spit up and throw things.  Fisher Price's Apptivity Case is a great product - in theory.  It could use a couple of improvements.  First, it is very very difficult to get the phone in and out.  You have to have a knife or something similar to get the twist lock on and off - which I get so kids can't pop it out, but it doesn't make for a quick toy.  Second, if you put your iPhone in the way suggested in the directions, you can't push the 'home' button to close an app. 
Luckily, to fix the first problem of being too difficult to access, we happened to have an old iPhone 3 that I converted into an iPod (just disabled all of the phone settings), and we put music, a couple of animated movies and some baby apps on.  And, my husband figured out if you flip the iPhone the other way, you can access the 'home' button.  But, you still can't access the 'screen off' button - so you have to wait until the app closes itself due to inactivity - which drains the battery.

Overall, I still think it's a neat product, and we've made it work, but I hope to see an Apptivity Case 2.0 soon.

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Angelcare Pad

Could. Not. Do. Without.  This product is amazing.  We went ahead and registered for the Angelcare Pad and Video Monitor so we wouldn't have a junked up nightstand.  This product has been worth every single penny.  If your child stops any movement (including breathing) for 20 seconds, an alarm sounds - and it is as loud as the house alarm.  This gives me the peace of mind at night. There's no way I would have gotten any sleep those first few weeks if I hadn't known it would alert me.  Warning: When you are half asleep picking the baby up in the middle of the night for a feed and you forget to hit the sensor pause button - it will still go off waking up everyone - including the baby :)

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Tommee Tippee Bibs

These foodie bibs from Tommee Tippee are the best. I've bought three different brands, and these are the only ones that you can successfully wash in the dishwasher.  I've been a fan of the milk feeding Tommee Tippee bibs with the foam neckline from day one, and these didn't disappoint either.

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Peg Perego

I suffer from a herniated L5/S1 disc and I was very concerned about all the lifting of baby equipment I would have to do with my biggest concern being a travel system. I quickly discovered that a Snap and Go was the way to do it, since that frame weighs nothing, and then get a regular stroller rather than one big system. The Veela from Peg Perego is 15 lbs., opens one handed and kicks closed is the greatest stroller if you need lightweight.  It isn't really made for jogging, but it doesn't do too bad on asphalt - better than I would have expected. We have a jogging stroller that doubles as a bike trailer.  Surprisingly, it was cheaper to do that than to actually buy a BOB or other jogging stroller.

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Dr. Brown's Pitcher

Who would have thought a pitcher would be one of my favorite baby products?  This Dr. Brown's pitcher is the best thing if you mix formula, and especially if you have to add rice to it.  It makes a whole day's worth of bottles and the pump mixes without adding additional air to the formula. It is dishwasher safe too - even better!

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Other Uses for Pacifier Clips

MK quit taking a pacifier after she figured out there was no food attached to them - right about 9 weeks.  For every pacifier she had, I had bought a pacifier clip as I didn't want to have to wash one every time she spit it out.  When she started paying with toys (and of course dropping them), I began to use some toy strings (no idea of real name) that you could snap to whatever she was sitting in (car seat, swing, etc.)  I realized I could use her pacifier clips in the same way.  Some toys work with different pacifier clips based on the type of clip they have.  The bungee made for Soothies work great on toys that have some sort of loop or hook.  Soft toys worked great with the actual clips.  They never fall on the floor - which not only is our floor dirty because of us, but we have two cats that play outside - and I only have to wash them when they've been used enough by her that it's time for some de-germing.  And, as an added bonus, the toys being clipped to something, keep the cats from playing with them.

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Wax On, Wax Off

Ok, don't judge.  I was desperate the other day and the lady who normally waxes my eyebrows was busy. I was going somewhere and didn't have time to go back or try someone else.  So, I decided to take the ultimate dare and wax my eyebrows myself.  I was TOTALLY SHOCKED by how normal it turned out.  I was fully prepared to have to go and get some female Rogaine to rub on my eyebrows as a result of my waxing attempt.  I don't think it would have worked if I had to shape my eyebrows.  For whatever reason, I have low-maintenance eyebrows.  I know right - I am maintenance in every other way.  All I have is some rampant hairs underneath the ends of my eyebrows - but there sure are a lot in that one little spot. 

There are no actual strips, you just use the paddle to put the wax in the desired location, and then pull your skin and directly yank the wax off - and it really does work pretty well.  I had to pick a few pieces, as I didn't get a good grip since I didn't know what to expect, but even with picking pieces at a time, the whole process took less than 10 minutes, for both brows.

Anyway, the Sally Hansen At-Home Wax kit is a lifesaver and also a big $$$ saver.   It cost $8 for a whole pot (which unless wax rots, I expect to last for months and months), instead of $10 per wax at my salon.  Win!

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Stella Party!

This post is slightly self-serving. I'm hosting a Stella and Dot party on May 10th at my house, and I wanted to go ahead and share how much I love the jewelry.  Yes, my mom does sell it and is the one who got me into it, but I really do love it. It's unique, and very elegant, without being completely out of the budget.  Let me know if you want to come! Below are a few of my favorite pieces:

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Best Cupcake Piping Tools

This post is dedicated to my friend Mary, who is almost as obsessed with cupcakes as I am.  After lots of ruined icing recipes, I discovered the part of the problem is in having good tools.  I've also discovered that's true with make up - it's the brushes that make the difference.  Anyway.  I use jumbo piping tools to make the big swirls.  I also started using reusable bags with the jumbo tools as when I tried to pipe through them using disposable piping bags, I blew the tip right through the bag.  I swore I would never use reusable bags as they are SO messy.  But, the reinforced tip gives you better control, they are much sturdier, you can refill them easier in the middle of icing a ton of cupcakes, and of course, more environmentally friendly.  They are a pain to clean though - you have to turn them inside out, and I put mine in the dishwasher after I've let them soak awhile.

To decorate cookies or cakes with a more defined look, or to write words, I use Duff tips. They are steel will not bend even if you hit them with a hammer (I read a blog that claimed this, so I tried it for myself - and surprise, it's true!)  Other tips I've used have bent with just the pressure of my fingers, so I was grateful to find these. 

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The Best High Chair on the Planet

I have to credit my sister-in-law for this one. The Boon high chair is the best thing ever. It is on a pedestal with wheels and I can pull it all over my first floor - MK plays in it while I cook in the kitchen, and we can pull it right up to the table when we eat dinner (you can adjust the height to fit your table). We also put her in it after she finishes a bottle and we have to do other things around the house and don't have time to sit (she has stage 2 reflux, so she is supposed to sit still for 15 minutes after bottles - which is a HUGE challenge now).  The toys are attached to the high chair with toy strings (I can't recall proper name - you can get them at Buy Buy Baby), and I also use pacifier clips.  The Boon also has no crevices, so it is super easy to clean.  The tray can be removed and replaced using one hand, and it comes with two tray covers that pop off and go in the dishwasher. 

I won't lie, this is a pricey high chair - I think most places it is about $230.  To me, it has been worth every penny, and she's only used for about three weeks now. I recommend ordering from Buy Buy Baby and using a 20% off coupon as Boon is not an excluded brand (note: Buy Buy Baby is owned by Bed Bath and Beyond, so their coupons work too - but Buy Buy Baby will not take expired coupons).  No store keeps the larger high chairs in stock, so no matter what you will have to order and pay shipping.  Happy eating!

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Best Face Cream Ever

Garnier Ultra Lift Anti-Wrinkle Firming Moisturizer SPF 15 must be the best facial cream out there. I totally credit it for getting rid of my double-chin.  Fairly in-expensive too @ $11-$13 depending on where you get it.

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iLatch

The iLatch might be the coolest product around for an iPad. It hooks anywhere - truly - anywhere. Cabinets, strollers, pack-n-plays, carseats, etc. if you have a kid, get one. If you don't get one anyway.

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