Favorite Things

Look at this a timely post for the week...whoo hoo!!

I really need to jot things down during the week, I swear I have about a million fun things to share but always forget when I sit down to type. But hey...I'm 1 month into "blogging" so I'm sure I'll find out some tricks of the trade as I progress along.

As a family we love our canteens. No...not the old, ugly ones that hikers use to carry around. (see below).

My dear Father-In-Law read an article a year or two ago. I don't have the articles's title or a copy of it, but from his recap the article talked about the link of people who drink from plastic water bottles and increases in cancer. It was mostly due to the bottles being left in hot cars/outside/etc and then used. The chemicals in the plastic leaked into the drinking water and then was consumed. Yuck! So my father-in-law called the family to tell us about the findings. He made it a point to call both Hubs and I since we always are carrying around water bottles.

So I thought why not listen and make a small investment for our health? And safe the planet from a number of wasted bottles. So EVERYONE in the family has their own Canteens...well Kanteens.

A's:

Kid Kanteen® Baby Bottles (9oz)

Advantages:

• Constructed out of 100 percent 18/8 food grade stainless steel, without any plastic liners or even closure threads. 
• The practically indestructible bottle is dishwasher safe and easy to sterilize--with a rounded, baby-friendly design that won't trap germs or bacteria. 
• The bottle comes with a medical-grade silicone nipple appropriate for babies aged six months old and up. The nipple can be interchanged with any nipple from newborn slow-flow to fast flow for older babies. 
• When your baby has outgrown bottle feeding, the lid can be interchanged with a variety of other Klean Kanteen lids and used as a cup or for food storage. 
• Easy to heat up milk...just run under hot water and milk heats up quickly
• Mark bottle with date of milk pumped...markers wash off!

E's:

Klean Kanteen 12 oz Stainless Steel Water Bottle with Sport Cap

Advantages:

• Pretty much everything I mentioned above, plus it comes apart on every spot to put in dishwasher to keep super clean (this sounds like a no-brainer but you'd be surprised with some sippy cups!!)

Hubs & Mine:

Klean Kanteen Coffee Set Wide Mouth Insulated Bottle w/ 2 Caps (Stainless Loop Cap and Cafe Cap)

AND

Klean Kanteen 40 Oz with Sport Cap

Advantages:

• These (well any of this brand's) can be used for hot or cold items! They do awesome keeping items both hot or cold.

I love these and we all use ours everyday...all day long! A few dollars upfront but it's saved us from buying bottles of water or juices from the gas stations!

Have a great day!

-A

Favorite Things

Our weeks just fly by...it's amazing! Each week day, things change in our household...our girls are growing like little weeds.

What A Loves:
A is loving her carriers. I can not explain enough how she just loves them. E was never a "carrier baby"...but A is sure making up for it. This week A was in her carrier at the grocery store, during E's gymnastics, Jazz night and multiple times during the day. Right now she prefers the Moby Wrap.

Right now we have the sage green, (they come in different colors and patterns) cotton one but I'm really tempted to get a linen one. The jersey cotton is awesome, super comfy for me and A but its a little warm during the summer. I also see using a sling in the future for A as well. 

What E Loves:

She loves her 'big girl' underwear. However getting to the bottle on time, every time isn't always working. E does love picking out what underwear she is wearing. Those with "Cars" or "Princesses" are a favorite for E, but don't provide a lot of protection from those accidents. However, Blueberry has the perfect pairs that give E the feeling of being wet but saves our carpets!!

I've even put E in these for quick car trip and we do just fine! These are so soft and come in lots of fun designs and colors. I will be purchasing a handful more of these!!! If you are thinking of potty training or know a family that is I would mention these. They have both girl and boy pairs.

What I Love:

I swear, I'm not as high maintenance as it appears with my recommendations. But many of these beauty products save me time and help me feel presentable. 

I can't wash my hear everyday...if I do my ends just break off and split like no other. But my roots are dark and appear oily. So I've come to love dry shampoos. I've tried these in the past and HATED them...and I tried cheap and expensive ones and they did nothing for me!

 

This one by Suave is really good (and its cheap). Not only does it help my roots but it gives awesome volume. Win-win!!

Favorite Things

This is fun, I love to share things that I've found that we really enjoy. Hopefully they can help you out, or give you gift ideas.

What A Loves:

  

So A is still teething yet nothing has poked thru! Everything goes into her mouth...but her Sophie Giraffe and Sophie Giraffe Ring are a huge favorite. These are one of those toys that E brings to her anytime she is fussing.

Description:

• Variety of textures perfect for soothing Baby's sore gums when teething
• The singular scent of Natural Rubber makes Sophie very special and easy for your child to identify amid all his other toys. 
• The textured surfaces for baby to choose from according to age and needs, to give even faster relief for aching gums. 

What E Loves:

Well, outside of putting on silly outfits?! She is loves to play pretend. This was her birthday gift from us, I searched long and hard for the perfect set and this has been even more than I had hoped for! This Melissa and Doug set is 100% wood...which took about 2.5 hours to assemble but well worth it. E loves it and plays with it all the time!

What I Love:

Here is one more item in my beauty routine. L'Oreal Lip Balm in Pink Satin...this is perfect is both lip gloss and lipstick (well enough for my liking). I can apply it at anytime without a mirror and it's the perfect color. I really would say it would be perfect enough for any ladies coloring. I love it so much, its a must have.


What We Love:

Well this is more what I love, but its for the house so I'm including everyone in on this one. Dr Bronner's All In One Soap. This has about a million uses if you look online. We use the lavender for our cleaning, mostly because I get time to clean when the girls are sleeping and the scent is pleasant for before bed. I use a few drops mixed with water in a spray bottle to clean EVERYTHING! It removes mildew from the shower and even E's paint from her art easel or our counter tops! It also cleans windows and mirrors with no streaks (again all with the diluted mixture in the spray bottle). One 16oz bottle last us about a year!

I also use the Unscented Baby Mild for the girl's at bedtime. It's done wonder's for E's KP!

This stuff comes in an array of scents and it's helps us save a ton on cleaning supplies. It's organic and safe for use while pregnant, around food and around kids.

Have a great day all!
-A

Things We Love

I'm a stay-at-home mommy which is awesome, however the pay isn't that great...but the benefits are incredible!! So I spend a lot of time researching items before I buy them...always looking for the best deal. I also look for organic/safe items for my family and the icing on the cake is made in the USA.

So my goal is to highlight items that I've found that I love....it can be for me, the girls, the hubs, gifts, or so on. Basically, it could be anything; but I will try my hardest to show the best deal.

What A Loves:

Lifefactory 2 Pack Multi Sensory Silicone Teether

A is teething up a storm, but nothing has come in yet...
this is one of her favorite teethers AND added bonuses...

• Multi-sensory silicone teether is designed by a pediatric feeding specialist
• Made in USA of medical grade silicone and contains no phthalates, PVC, BPA or latex
• 4 different sections to develop oral motor skills
• Can be refrigerated or frozen to soothe aching gums

What E Loves:

Vita Coco 100% Pure Coconut Water, 17-Ounce Boxes

E drinks this ALL the time. The benefits of this water are amazing....no sugars like juice yet E refers to it as juice. I really encourage you to read up on the benefits of 100% coconut water. Please be careful of those with just 'splashes' of it...it's not the same! Anyways, Amazon.com is the place that sells it for cheap (well the cheapest I can find). We get a discount since we are an their auto delivery program and the shipping is free! Score!!!

What I Love:

Maybelline Age Rewind Eraser Dark Circles, BRIGHTENER

A full night of rest isn't always possible for me, and applying a 'full face' of makeup each day isn't always in the cards either. But I always use this...most days my routine is this and mascara and I still feel so pulled together. This is so amazing...I recommend the brightener. It must be a big hit because I told my Mom about it and we went to 2 large stores...both were sold out of this exact formula.

So here is a little inside to my go-to items. Happy Wednesday!!

-A

7 Months Old

Our baby turned 7 months old this week and I made sure to take her monthly photos. Before she was born I knew I wanted to do these with those adorable stickers...like these here even though she is our 2nd daughter I still envisioned her sitting with a cute outfit, a adorable headband and these stickers, just smiling away. I had plans to use the pictures in our calendars and such. But of course that is not how our monthly photo shoots go.

A puts everything in her mouth...even stickers that are applied to her tummy! So as of last month I try to put the sticker near her, but as you see she still gets them. But hey, that's A...and when I look back on these photos a long time from now I will remember this.

Milestones:

• Smiles the minute you make eye contact, even late in the day right before bedtime
• Crawling...mostly her own A version which is a lot like an army crawl but she has shown us some 'real' crawling moves too!
• Chattering, making all kinds of sounds, squeals and laughs (including lots of giggles)

Favorite Things:

• Food: Mangos and Bananas, Broccoli, Kale, Spinach, Pears (I make ALL of her food even her milk ;) and I use the Beaba Babycook...I used it for all of E's food when she was small too. It's great...steam/chop/puree all in one quick switch)
• This mat....it's amazing, if you have a little one, I highly recommend it. Even E who is 2 enjoys it. It comes everywhere with us...super soft, has play things included and its huge but still portable. This will no doubt be one of my 'go to gifts' for friends with/expecting kids!
• Loves to be held, mostly by me...but she is starting to let others hold her more.

Our girls are so different...A is tiny and shy and E is super tall and really outgoing. E was also dying to do everything right then and there...for instance she was sitting on her own at 6 months and holding herself up on furniture at 7 months old...and A is just content being a baby and taking her time (I have no problem with this at all!!) Also, E was wearing 12 month+ clothing at 7 months and A is still in 3-6 months. Just for fun I put their 7 month pics side by side to show you the difference. I love that they are so unique, they surly keep Hubs and I on our toes.

I did just notice that both love to have their mouths opened when they smile!

I'm so excited about this Blog, and have some fun things planned. Hopefully this week I will begin with my 'daily/weekly' items so be sure to check back often!

-A