Christmas Dream Come True!!!

I have had the same table and chair set for years.

Well, actually the table is new to my home, about a year now. I've recovered the fabric on the chairs 2 times now.

Here's the most recent change:

The boys had the orange fabric stained and ruined in no time! I love this new stripe fabric! We've been in this house for 5 years now and from the first moment I saw the kitchen I wanted a banquette for the corner. You know...a bench that's shaped like an L? I have been coveting them for years and my parents knew it. They really surprised me this year with this...

Mom said the look on my face was priceless as the boys unwrapped it for me. It was one of those chin hits the floor moments. I'm so grateful! It looks really beautiful doesn't it? It took them about 3 hours to put together and it's SOOOO worth it! It even has storage in the benches!!! I have one filled up with playdough and the other is painting stuff. The boys are really enjoying it too! Now I can seat 6 people instead of 4! YAY!!!

So tell me, what did you get this year that you weren't expecting?

Sick Baby

Last night Cutler tossed and turned all night. It was restless sleep for sure. At 5am I checked his temp and it was 101! I know that's not terribly high for a baby but it worried me. It doesn't matter if it's your first baby or your third, I still contemplated the ER. What is it about a baby and a fever that makes you paranoid. I was thinking the worst, pnemonia, RSV, flu, etc.

I got some coffee and settled into the recliner and rocked him back to sleep as he moaned and cried. I felt so bad for him. He just cut his first tooth on the 26th, so I assumed his pain and fever were teething related.

I called the doctor when they opened up and she wanted to see him. We went in at 9:30 and she said he has a double ear infection. Red and inflamed in the right and green and pus filled in the left. OUCH! I had no idea it was an ear infection! Poor baby.

We started medicine and I'm hoping that he'll sleep well tonight. Maybe I'll be able to go back to work tomorrow.

10 years and counting!!!

This day I married my best friend...10 years ago.

 I love you Lou. I hope we have many more happy years ahead of us.

Don't we look so young? It's hard to believe that it's 10 years and 3 children later!

Expressiva Nursingwear Giveaway

I've never worn nursingwear before and I'm currently nursing our 3rd son! The reason...cost. After spending a fortune on maternity clothes that you have to have I never spent the money on nursingwear. I was always wishing I had some nursingwear tops, but it wasn't in my budget. They seem so convenient, a way to nurse in public without showing off your post baby belly! Genius! I had seen a few tops that some friends had and I thought they looked really "Granny-ish", but look at these!!!

I was recently turned on to Expressiva Nursingwear and I have since changed my mind.

Our stylish nursingwear features hidden openings so you can nurse your baby discreetly and confidently - wherever life takes you. We've got nursing tops for work and play, nursing dresses for special occasions, nursing loungewear and sleepwear, nursing bras, and more.

First, they are super cute! They have styles that you would find in any store or boutique.
Second, they are much more affordable than I thought! They have some shirts as low as $12.99 and bras as low as $14.99!
Third, the variety! I had no idea that I could get dresses, tops, gowns and more in nursingwear! Exciting!


Now I doubt that you are going to get a whole new wardrobe in nursingwear, but there are going to be those time when you KNOW you will be in public and your baby wants to nurse. For those times I would recommend you get some nursingwear that allows you to nurse your baby with the utmost privacy. Maybe 3-5 long sleeve shirts and 3-5 short sleeve/sleeveless shirts. Just enough to allow you to keep your post baby belly private. As it should be! They sent me a shirt to try out and I'm forever changed. I selected the "I make milk" shirt. I'm sure their shirts have different access options, my shirt has an inner panel, both front and back side, with openings in the top of the front panel. The shirt itself is super soft and I was worried the extra layers would make the shirt bulky...NOT so. The layers are perfectly thought out and the openings couldn't be better placed, off to the sides where no one can see the seams. Brilliant! I wore a bright pink tank top underneath to accurately show the openings, just to clarify how the shirt works. Please ignore my goofy expression, it was late and I was tired. :-)

If you're not sure that nursingwear is right for you, or maybe you can't afford 5-10 new shirts, then start off with a nursing cover! How cute is this one!!! I don't have a nursing cover, never had one. I've always used a blanket but that has never really worked out for me. It slips off my shoulder, this one goes around the neck, nice. It also allows you to be able to peek down and see how your baby is doing. With a blanket as a cover your baby's face is often covered, when you do move it to take a peek it becomes loose again and you'll find yourself re-adjusting. At least that is the case with me.


Expressiva is allowing me to host a giveaway!!! One of you will win the "I make milk" T!!! Leave me a comment with your email address to enter!

For additional entries leave me a comment that you are a Fan of HomemadeMom on facebook, and/or that you have tweeted this giveaway. Giveaway will end on January 10th.

So head on over to Expressiva and see what they have to offer. You won't be disappointed!

Laundry Basket Toss

In my house laundry baskets don't last very long. Here's why:

My washer and dryer are in the basement. After I finish a load of laundry I don't take the time to walk an empty basket down the stairs...I toss it. I know...probably not the best idea. It's loud and destructive, but SO easy. My current laundry basket had both of the handles broken off the side from the years of tossing. I would try and hold it on my hip to bring it upstairs and it would collapse causing me to drop it. This made me so mad! I have only myself to blame. I was wishing for a stronger sturdier laundry basket and here it is:

I'm not sure the purpose of this basket is laundry but it works! I have 2 loads of laundry in this one basket! It's huge and VERY sturdy. The boys are in the picture for a size reference...this thing is monstrous! It's made by Sterilite. I've searched the site and not found this product in any of the categories, but it's a keeper!!!

2 NEW Beco Butterfly Baby Carrier prints!!!

Jillian at PAXbaby.com just emailed me to say that Beco has released 2 new prints! I wish I had known about this last week! Ugh!!!

Here is Paige:

 and here is Zoye:

They are both super cute and gender neutral. I think it would be a hard choice between the two! I just received my Beco Carrier from Jillian the other day and I'm loving it! I don't know how I lived without it. It really has changed my day to day activities. Super simple now! Anyways...head on over to PAXbaby.com and order one today! You won't regret it. If you have any questions about this carrier or others, I'll do my best to answer.

Pampers Gifts to Grow

If you buy Pampers Wipes and/or Diapers you need to know about Pampers Gifts to Grow program. Did you know that you can find stickers with a 16 digit code on ALL Pampers products? I've been collecting them for years and forgot all about the points I had accumulated until the other day. I recently purchased a pack of diapers for Cutler and when I saw that sticker on the inside of the plastic wrap I remembered!!!

I logged in and sure enough my old points were still there waiting for me! I was elated!!! I added my new code and I had enough to buy this:

How cool is that?!? It was COMPLETELY free!!! I didn't even have to pay for shipping and handling! If you are interested in this great program click here to check out their current rewards catalog. I used up my few leftover points and sent them to Unicef to help provide lifesaving vaccines! I LOVE my new lotion and body wash. It's a great perk for buying the top of the line diapers.

Beco Butterfly II Baby Carrier - First time use

I'm only posting this again to enable comments. I couldn't get comments working on the previous post.

After all the fussing around to get the fit just right Cutler fell fast asleep.

Check it out...the carrier matches my kitchen!!! This print is the "Scooter".I LOVE my Beco Butterfly II!!! I bought mine from Jillian at PaxBaby.com. They have a huge selection of baby carriers in a variety of styles. I'm sure you'll find one there to suit your needs!

(please ignore the fact that I look like a slob, I just got off work)

Comments have been disabled!?!

So it looks like I haven't received a comment on my blog posts in months!!! I didn't really notice it until a friends said something to me about it tonight. I had everything enabled and properly checked or unchecked. After doing some research I found that MANY blogger customers have been having the same problems. So I had to recreate this blog from scratch!

I saved all my widgets in notepad and labeled them properly, I saved my template in case I had to go back to where I started from, and I reset everything! I also did a few screen shots and saved them so I had a visual of what the pages looked like. If you've never done a screen shot it's pretty easy and extremely useful for situations just like this. When you have a screen you want to capture you click Ctrl and Prnt Scrn. That copies the image to your clipboard. Then you open something to paste it into. Windows Paint is super simple and works great. Paste the image there and save it. It will save as a bmp or a jpeg. It took me just minutes to reset the whole thing.

Now my comments are available and working on new posts. I have no idea how to fix them so I could receive comments on old posts, but for now I'm happy.

Scrapblog - A mother's dream come true.

I was recently turned on to a site called Scrapblog. At first I was skeptical. I thought it would be like so many other "Scrapbook" sites out there, but I was wrong! I have 3, count em...3 digital scrapbooking programs on my computer that hardly ever get used. When I had my first son I really wanted to document his life with a scrapbook, but I'm not really that creative. Not to mention that cost involved in all the accessories that go into creating a custom scrapbook! Yikes!

So when Kristina from Scrapblog asked me to check it out I was curious. I wondered how this would be different from what I already had. When I want to create a page with one of my programs I first have to search through hundreds of templates. They are usually categorized, but still there are so many to choose from. It's nice to have the variety, but difficult to spend all that time searching. I'm a busy mom of 3 boys, I don't have time to waste. Once you do find a page you think fits the theme you have in mind, then you have to search for the picture you had in mind, wasting more time, then customize the page after you've added the picture! Phew! Too much work!!!

Here's how Scrapblog is MUCH better than whatever method you may be using:

1. Select a kit. They have so many to choose from in a variety of categories
2. Add your photos. You can add them from your computer or a website like facebook, flickr, picasa, photobucket and more.
3. Instant results. They have something called Quick Mix that adds your pics to the ready made pages in the templates. All the work is done for you! You still have the option to change the pages if you want. You can add/delete text, backgrounds, shapes, stickers, frames and even videos!!! You heard me... videos!!!
4. Then you have the option to share your scrapblog online or have it printed and sent directly to your mailbox!
   

They are truly genius! I have to say that I quickly created a scrapbook for Cutler in about 2 hours. It wasn't all at once, I wish I had 2 hours to sit down and create something! lol! If I had done it page by page (I have 29 pages so far) it would probably have taken me about 30 minutes per page. HOURS wasted! No more!

Click here to view Cutler's Baby Book. Let me know what you think! Try it out for yourself! You won't be disappointed!

The fun part...Kristina has given me a code to give out to one lucky HomemadeMom reader to win your very own Scrapblog Book!!! You'll receive a Keepsake Hard Bound book with up to 20 pages, which is beautiful, by the way. Here's how to win (you need to leave me a comment to let me know you did 1 of the following),

1. Leave a comment here with your email address that you want to win!
   
2. Go to Scrapblog and click on Learn More next to Quick Mix. I want you to view the kits and tell me if you won the free book which kit you would choose.
3. Become a Fan of Scrapblog on facebook.
4. Follow Scrapblog on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway!

Good luck! Giveaway will end on Friday January 1st, 2010.

Beco Butterfly II Baby Carrier - First time use

After all the fussing around to get the fit just right Cutler fell fast asleep.
Check it out...the carrier matches my kitchen!!! This print is the "Scooter".I LOVE my Beco Butterfly II!!! I bought mine from Jillian at PaxBaby.com. They have a huge selection of baby carriers in a variety of styles. I'm sure you'll find one there to suit your needs!

(please ignore the fact that I look like a slob, I just got off work)

Reusable Snack Sacks

*This post was supposed to be posted in May, but due to my pregnancy I didn't get it published like I had intended*

The other day I was thinking about all the plastic baggies that I throw away and it made me search for something better. Something washable, something reusable and something that I could personalize for my boys. I started shopping on Etsy. I came across a bunch of sandwich size snack sacks that fold over like a plastic baggie. I wanted something that would stand up on it's own, and with a drawstring type closure on the top. That way when my boys were being less than careful I wouldn't have to worry about snacks spilling out everywhere. I found a woman named Emily with an Etsy store called Saltwater Kids. She had something similar to what I wanted so I sent her an email with my ideas. She went over and above what I had in mind! She even went shopping for fabric that would be personalized to each of my boys!!! Camden is currently into skulls and Cohen is loving Camo.

She did a great job making them custom to my wishes! In Emily's sample that I asked her to edit for me she had a cute little label on the front and a ribbon drawstring. For my snack sacks she used a nylon fabric that would easily clean, a jacket type drawstring top and a flat bottom so it will stand up on it's own.The boys are loving their snack sacks and I love that the mess is contained! Here's the finished product. I couldn't be happier!


*Update: I have since realized that these snack sacks are the PERFECT size for 2 jars of baby food, 2 spoons and 1 bib! I think I'm going to have to see if I can get Emily to make me a few more for baby Cutler. Something not too baby though, I want it to have some lasting power. It's perfect to take and toss in my diaper bag or purse! Thanks Emily!!!

Amazing Seamless Socks!!!

Do your kids HATE the seams on their socks? My oldest boy Camden has fought me about wearing socks since the weather turned cold. He still wants to wear his Crocs/tennis shoes/boots without socks because they "bug" him. Every morning has been a battle. I have bought Hanes, Fruit of the Loom, Joe Boxer, Old Navy and Gap socks with no success. The seam bothers his pinky toe the most. Cohen is following suit with the fits now. I'm not sure if his socks are actually bothering him or if he's copying his big brother. I'm tired of it and it needs to stop.

Then while perusing the pages of Sheblogs.org I came across a company called Smart Knit Kids. They make seamless socks!!! Did you hear me? SEAMLESS SOCKS!!! The answer to my prayers! So I sent them an email asking if I could try a few pairs for my boys to review. Rose from Smart Knit Kids recently sent my 2 boys 2 pair of seamless socks each. Here's a snippet from their site:

SmartKnitKIDS® patented seamless socks are perfect for children experiencing sensory processing differences, hypersensitivity or who simply can’t stand annoying seams! These super soft socks for sensitive little feet will not wrinkle or bunch and are proven to reduce irritation.

Here's the lowdown: they're great! My boys love them. Watch this short video below and see for yourself. It was over 7 minutes when I started so I had to edit out the boring stuff.



For deleted scenes of the boys in their new socks goofing off click here.