What a week...

It was a rough week. Cupcake is sick, we're preparing to have family in this weekend for her birthday party... and I'm not even sure she will be in the party mood by then! We did however have time to get a few candid shots of the girls on Memorial Day, and that has been the one highlight to the week.

Typical Cupcake... going the direction SHE wants to, with a smile on her face...

And we didn't get any outside shots of Peanut before it started raining, but luckily did get a few cute pictures of her before leaving the house...

Peanut enamored with having her picture taken!

Daycare experiment fail.

Well, I didn't ever get around to blogging about the beginning of our daycare experiment... but I guess I can just summarize it at the end! I signed up the girls for a few mornings of daycare, so that Bella can go to parent & tot activities on the mornings that Natalie is there and giving Natalie a few mornings of Mommy time. (Well, one glorious morning I scheduled 4 hours to be able to do things like go get a haircut... which I have never gotten around to doing yet, by the way.)

A few things I learned during our month long experiment...

1) Nothing is open at 8am... unless you want to go to McDonald's or Target. I scheduled the girls from 8am until noon to try to avoid interrupting Bella's nap schedule, however I failed to realize that the only hours I would really be able to get anything actually DONE "errand wise" would be between 10am and noon... which doesn't leave much time when it takes upwards of 20-30 minutes to get back to the daycare location.

2) People ARE NOT joking, when they say your kids are going to be sick constantly after enrolling daycare. We've tried out daycare for a month, and my kids have pretty much been sick off & on... for a month. Bella has had the worst of it, more because I think she's in that age category where all the kids are sharing and licking every thing that they do share... ick.

3) Getting two kids ready and out the door in the morning is a hassle, not fun, and just generally... something I do not enjoy. (So if this was an experiment to see if me going back to work full-time was a possibility on the horizon, which it might have partially been... that is a giant no-go.)

4) On a positive note, I do really enjoy surprise artwork, made by little feet at daycare.

Natalie's first artwork masterpiece

So overall... it is just turning out that the original schedule I put together is not for us. Daycare is a valuable resource for parents that chose to or have to work part-time or full-time, and I applaud everyone that gets one or more children up and out the door every day to be somewhere on time... it is a chore. Especially with a little one in the 2 year old category! For now, I believe we will be chalking this up as a learning experience and dropping our schedule down from four mornings a week (which just seemed like too much), to two mornings a week. Which means that only Natalie will attend while Bella does some activities, and Bella will be forgoing her "school days" for now...

That's my plan right now to try to make it more manageable. Once Natalie starts chewing on everything, we shall see how it changes from there... It may realistically end up being zero days at that point. Mommy doesn't like having sick babies. At least through all of the sickness of the past month, they still have both stayed adorable.

Update! Britax B-Ready Double Stroller Review - Infant & Toddler Configuration

I've been using our Britax B-Ready double stroller for about 10 months now, so I figured it was time for an update on how I'm liking it. I used it for a little over 7 months as a single stroller - and now of course I'm currently using it as a double stroller, in infant bottom & toddler top configuration.

Here's my You Tube video review:

I really loved using the stroller as a single stroller. It folded up neatly and only took a bit more space in the back of our Honda CRV than the Chicco Cortina I was previously using. Cupcake had a higher riding position, so she liked the vantage point and being able to get into the bottom storage area from any angle with the zippered entrances was a definite plus. The larger wheels in the back make it incredibly easy to navigate tough terrains or to "ramp" the stroller onto a curb - however I do still get caught on doorways more often than I probably should. Operator error?

Britax B-Ready in Double Configuration: Infant bottom, Toddler top

When we transitioned it to a double stroller, it felt very odd for about a week - but then after I had a chance to get use to it, it was very user friendly again. We purchased an adapter to be able to place the infant carseat on the lower level from Buy Buy Baby. (Also available for purchase on Amazon HERE.) Our Britax Chaperone carseat snaps right into the adapter and after a bit of practice you can practically do it with one hand.

Carseat adapter for lower level

Speaking of one hand, most operations on the stroller DO take two hands to operate it - closing it you have to simultaneously pull levers on both sides of the push handle. Opening it also takes two hands to open the lock and kind of balance the stroller as you open it. However for the loss in being able to easily open or close the stroller with one hand - I would much rather gain the smaller footprint that this double stroller has, compared to other double strollers.

It is very similar in size to a single stroller and has a similar footprint when folded and when open. My biggest concern was that it didn't take up the entire back of our Honda CRV - or possibly even not fit. (When I looked at the Chicco Together in the store, I took one look and first thought, "Would that thing even fit in the back of my car when it is folded???") When you have the second toddler seat on the stroller, it folds up with both seats still in place, likewise - you can also fold it up with the lower infant carseat adapter still in place as well.

Britax B-Ready folded up in the back of our 2008 Honda CR-V

All in all... it gets good ratings from me still. The only issues we've had with it were Cupcake being able to chew pieces of the foam off of the bar that goes across the front of the upper toddler seat. (Which thank goodness is removable.) The five point harness straps on the toddler seat can also get kind of "fumbly" sometimes, since the top strap is removable from the waist strap - and if they detach when you're not wanting them to, that gets frustrating. Also, we've had one seam starting to come undone in the footrest area of the toddler seat... I haven't decided what to do about that and I may even contact Britax about it to see what they say. I will get back to you guys on that one.

Area my daughter chewed on the toddler safety bar

Loose seam on upper toddler seat

With these things in mind, I still think that its issues pale in comparison to issues I would be having with different larger, harder to fold, and bulkier to push double strollers that are on the market. I think this has been a great option for us!

Christmas 'n' stuff

Well it's that time of year again. And I've been hopelessly neglecting my blog lately, but I'm hoping to get back into the grove of things as the new year rolls around. We are slowly getting into a routine around here and even with the lack of sleep, we are at a decent level of functioning and dare I even say it... I'm becoming proficient at getting two kids ready and out of the house.

I've done fair bits of shopping lately, but of course most of it was for other people since I'm spreading holiday cheer and all of that. (I keep offering to send my screaming 3 week old over to people's houses for a few hours to spread holiday cheer, but for some reason no one seems to want to take me up on that. Hmmm...) I am finding fun new things in "Mommy world" that make being a mommy of two more manageable - and perhaps maybe even a fun item or two for myself! Assuming I can get by a computer for 20 or so minutes in the future, reviews will be forthcoming!

I was joking about the diaper bag in my post below, but good grief - who ever knew that it was TRUE?!? The same diaper bag you used with just one child in diapers definitely does NOT, I repeat NOT, work when you have two in diapers! (Plus, bottles, sippies, extra pants, etc etc etc) So I've been on the hunt for diaper bag solutions and have come up with a few different ideas...

We had been using the JJ Cole Mode diaper bag, which was a nice little bag for just one child - hooked onto the stroller nicely, and was easy to carry. It just wasn't functioning for a full days outing with both kids (although I probably will still be able to use it if I'm dropping one or both kids off at child care for a few hours... so its going to become our "child care" diaper bag.) Since I had Natalie, I had been bringing two bags out with us every where we go... one for each girl. This was just not cutting it. Especially when I was by myself trying to haul two bags around.

So my first solution was to get one bigger diaper bag, that I could use for both girls at one time.

I ended up with the Coach Op Art Diaper Bag in Dark Merlot, which is a bit bigger size - but also importantly, it is wider than it is tall, so that things don't just fall to the bottom (like our Mode Diaper bag, which was taller than wide) and hopefully will be easier to find. The color is gorgeous too, a rich purple with red undertones that I am hoping will go with about everything. This bag just arrived, so I will do a proper review after I've had a chance to use it.

My other interim solution was to get one of these JJ Cole Diaper Pods for easy quick changes on the go. (And I have a feeling I might end up with two of them, one for each girl.) My plan is to keep these in the car/stroller and they will be my grab & go item for when I just need to run into the bathroom to change one of the girl's diapers while someone stays with the other girl. This way I won't have to root around in the diaper bag to find that girl's specific items, especially if the diaper bag is in the bottom of the stroller being trapped in by the lower seat.

So all in all, we are figuring how it works with two, slowly but surely.

And just because it is only 10 days until Christmas... I feel compelled to share pics of our Christmas tree.

We just bought a new camera too (a Nikon 3100, love! will do a review on this as well in the future) - so I'm hoping to be able to share better pictures of the girls as time goes on...

Progress on the Cupcake Room Makeover & Life

So I've discovered that I'm not very witty when I'm pregnant... in fact, my mind is fairly blank - which of course doesn't make for good blog posts. 

The other unfortunate side effect of my mind being blank - or preggo brain as it is affectionately called - is that I've also done things like lock myself out of my house while Cupcake was inside napping, accidentally left my drivers license in my wallet at my house while taking my daughter to swim class (once I realized I didn't have my wallet with me, I drove very, very slowly...), and leaving the changing pad from Cupcake's diaper bag that I've managed to keep track of for a year up to that point - in a restaurant bathroom.

These things are not the norm for me... but being pregnant apparently zaps my ability to remember simple task down to about 50% efficiency.

I am happy to say though, that I finally remembered to take pictures of the cupcake tea party room decor that I've collected so far, and seeing everything together has made me that much more excited!

Pillow from Private Quarters, Bedding from Olive Kids, Wooden room decor from Cute Kid Creations

Items from Cute Kid Creations

Excited to be making progress and be finding items that fit exactly what I had in mind for Cupcake's room!

I've also ordered some wall letters to go with the other wooden items I ordered from Cute Kid Creations, which should hopefully arrive at the end of the summer.

My ultimate goal is to have Cupcake in her new "big girl" room by the beginning of Fall, so I still have some ordering of furniture to do - but I figure I will take full advantage of the nesting stage that should hit me around September or October to get everything completed for her new room.

In other news... peanut #2 has been determined to be a GIRL, according to our most recent ultrasound! So hooray for being able to reuse some of Cupcake's clothing. Peanut #2 will be taking over Cupcake's current room (which we call the nursery) so I've also ordered her some wall letters as well, to match the jungle animal theme in that room.

So now that we know the gender, I'm in need of a nickname for the second baby... and have been tossing potential nicknames around. Sticking with the "baked goods" theme, baby #2 might end up being... Cookie? Muffin? Buttercup? We'll see what ends up sticking in the end.

We've created a labyrinth in our living room...

Since our downstairs was unusable (for Cupcake anyways) for a short period of time while we were waiting on our carpet to be installed. (If you haven't heard the full story, see my story about living in a construction zone.) We decided that it was finally time to order those long baby gates we had been looking at, to be able to block certain parts of our upstairs off.

We ended up deciding on this one: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00020L78M

It's the North States Superyard Classic XT Gate and we choose it based on it's simple design, good reviews, and decent price.

When it arrived, I took to blocking off our dining room from the living room (the room Cupcake was using as a main play area since the downstairs was out of commission) and cut off her route to the kitchen. Although she was none too happy about this change, she quickly adjusted. It made for a nice puzzle like labyrinth in the beginning...

We also tested out having it in a hexagon, and it still fit nicely in the room...

The final layout that we've used while the downstairs was completed is what my husband likes to call, "The Great Wall of Cupcake" - and we have the gate stretched out to block off her routes to the dining room and kitchen.

All in all, this has turned out to be a great buy for us and luckily we had the good sense to order two of them (one for upstairs, one for downstairs) when we placed our Amazon order.  I think this will be a really great thing to have in the Spring and Summer, when we're wanting to spend more time outside and it works great to keep her contained in one specific area. (While still giving her more room to move around than a play yard.)

Bottom line... This is a great product that I would recommend to a parent that has an active 8-9+ month old baby, they are great to keep areas of your house blocked off and are versatile since you can add and remove panels to fit the area that you want to use it in. It definitely has saved my sanity since Cupcake has become A LOT more mobile lately!


(This is an independent review, writer was not compensated and purchased the product themselves.)

Packin Smart Travel Food containers by Innobaby

I was at a birthday party in Chicago a few weeks ago, when a Mommy pulled a contraption out of her diaper bag and I practically lunged across the room at her to ask, "Where did your find THAT?!?!". (Making a good first impression as always, I'm sure she was wondering what hole I had been living in, ha! I was already the "crazy lady from the suburbs" that had decided to try to push my stroller down the barely plowed sidewalks to my friend's townhouse, and got the stroller stuck... embarrassingly, all those who were attending the party and lived in the city where familiar with the fact that trying to push a stroller after the area had just been slammed with about 2 feet of snow... probably wasn't the best plan in the world. And carried their children in sans stroller. Whoops.)

Anyhow, seeing as most of my friends in the area that I live in all have children that are older than Cupcake, I don't get to see neat things pulled out of diaper bags on a regular basis that could be useful in our lives too, and I was a little excited.

It was a great little organizer by Innobaby called the Packin Smart - that has five separate compartment to carry individual snacks, formula, or other small bits. Genius! I headed to Buy Buy Baby to get one as soon as we got home from our Chicago trip. I'm sure it will also be great for our upcoming vacation to Disney World as well.

This is available at Buy Buy Baby for $19.99 (don't forget they always have those 20% off coupons that circulate or take Bed Bath and Beyond coupons!) - and there are also smaller versions available with 3 compartments. The Packin Smart snack contains can be found online here.

A similar product can also be found at Babies'R'Us.

It's a handy little thing that can be made as small or large as you would like it to be and the top of each compartment comes off to easily fill them up. All in all, I'm glad I asked about it - because I think it's going to be a great little item to have...

(This is an independent review. The writer was not compensated in any way for reviewing this product.)

The Great Crib Destruction of 2011

So what happens when a Cupcake gets teeth? This is not a trick question... this is what happens:

On an otherwise ordinary day, I put Cupcake down for a nap... and when I went in to get her up from the nap was greeted with the above sight. It was one of those, "WHAT DID YOU DO??" moments. After I contained my hysterical laughter, checked my child's mouth for stray pieces of wood, and did a quick Google search to make sure the manufacturers of DaVinci baby furniture had enough sense to make the finishes non-toxic (they did, thank goodness...) - I realized that I was going to have to figure out a way to guard the rest of her crib. And quick.

After a bit online searching, I settled on crib wraps from Trend Lab - made from a soft material on top with a waterproof barrier on the bottom and not hideous to look at - they seemed like the right choice to solve the problem. None of the local stores around me carried them in stock of course, so we had to wait on them to be shipped to us, but fortunately no further crib destruction happened during the waiting period.

The crib now looks like this (with tooth marks on one side):

The upshot is... Cupcake had one of her front teeth come in that day, so I suppose at least the gnawing on the crib wasn't without purpose. I would say, if you have a child between 6 -8 months of age... I would go ahead and just start working on finding some crib covers for the crib at your house, lest you have a crib that ends up looking like ours.

Crib wrap covers can be found on Amazon.com & Babies R US, and are available in a variety of colors:

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3521417

http://www.amazon.com/CribWrap-Complete-Trend-Lab-One-Covers/dp/B003K09BHK/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1299272543&sr=8-9

http://www.amazon.com/Trend-Lab-Crib-Guard-White-Fleece/dp/B00208RTX6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1299272543&sr=8-2

(Disclaimer: This review was done independently. The writer is not affiliated with the aforementioned companies and received no monetary compensation for this review.)