Crafting for those who are NOT certifiably insane

Like I said, in times of trouble, I look to crafts to distract me.

Cool Mom Picks just posted this. It's cute, but the price tag is completely uncalled for.

Am I the only one who thinks Cool Mom Picks has really gone off the expensive deep end lately? I find myself not even bothering to check that site because the things they feature are crazy. I did buy their featured Valentines to raise money, but that's about it. I used to check every day at least once a day. Now, though, I fear they've gone crazy, so I just don't bother.

Well, that pillow is cute, but I'm going to challenge myself. I believe I can recreate it completely free with fabric from my stash.

So stay tuned and let's see if I'm actually motivated enough to do it.

The Whines of a Former Military Wife

I'm going to whine. Consider yourself warned.

(big sigh)
I miss my husband. Yes, he's here. I feel guilty making that statement when he isn't deployed. Hell, he's not even active anymore. Still, after working through PTSD (times two), he's not the man I married. We got through the worst of it, but it has changed him.

Lately, I've been painfully aware that there are small fleeting moments where the man I married would have hugged me, reached for my hand, or put an arm around me. The man he's become does none of these. He still loves me. He's still one of the rare good men out there. PTSD just stripped him of the more affectionate side.

I know I'm very blessed to have such a wonderful husband. He's smart. He's kind. He has moral standards. He doesn't see me as a cook/housekeeper. He's willing to work together with me.

It's just that, I miss him. I miss who he was. I love this new guy, but it's just not the same. In those brief moments where I still expect him to reach out, he doesn't and I'm painfully aware of what's missing.

Nice people ROCK!

Dh's little cousin (who is all grown up now, but was about 10 years old when I first met her) is going through a rough time. I've been pretty open with you all about the difficulties we've had this year. Well, dh's cousin is facing her own troubles and on top of that, she's pregnant and expecting a little boy in October.

I've tried asking for help for her a few times and Twitter and while I got lots of RT's (retweets), I didn't get any offers to help, until recently.

Grudgemom has put together a nation-wide baby shower for dh's cousin. You can read more about what she's going through at that link.

If you can help in any way, please do. If you can afford to, please buy something from the registry. For all my beloved Etsy sellers, if you make children's items and would like to send one their way, please do. If you're not on Etsy, but you make children's clothes/items, we would greatly appreciate your help. If you would like to donate hand-me-down clothing, please do (just remember they're in Florida, so they don't have much need for snow suits). If you'd like to do something other than the registry, please contact me (comment here or send an e-mail) and I'll help you out. I'm sending her some books, a box of nursing pads, the few newborn diapers we have (we never had many), and some boys' clothing, but unfortunately, TheBoy's newborn clothing is almost all for cold weather. Our financial situation is improving, but there's not too much we can spend, so I'm trying to pass along what I can.

A huge THANK YOU to Grudgemom and RG Natural Babies. And a big thank you to everyone who can help in any way.

Great Customer Service Makes Me Weak In the Knees.

You remember my evil dryer of doom and its path of destruction?

Hopefully, you also remember the joy and wonder that is Lands End. Upon reading about the disaster on twitter and checking out my blog and our family situation, someone from Lands End contacted me and offered to replace that bathing suit with any size and style of my choice. I opted for the Girls' Scrunchback Tankini in the Light Turquoise Butterfly print. It was the closest I could find to the suit that was destroyed and we did so love that suit.

This new one is no exception. It's wonderful. It's the same quick-drying fabric that we loved last year. I was able to get a size bigger so now it will fit next year too. Once again, the fit is amazing. It provides great coverage, but is still a two-piece. I really prefer two pieces for ease of use, but most of them are teeny tiny bikinis and we don't do that. This keeps the child covered, but is very cute and functional. The print is very cute and very vibrant. The kids love it. Girl2 has worn it in the sprinkler every time.

I've always heard good things about Lands End, but they're so expensive. Their sales make them a bit more reasonable, but that's often still beyond what we like to spend. If this is their usual customer service, though (which I hear it is), I'll skimp somewhere else in order to afford to shop there more often.

Just days before this, I had a gift certificate that I used when they offered free shipping and a sale on t-shirts (remember, my "fluffy" postpartum body doesn't fit into most of my pre-pregnancy t-shirts). I bought a few. I found the whites to be a bit too sheer for me, but I loved the the others. Returning the white ones was easy. I just brought them back to Sears so I could save on shipping costs. I got a gift certificate for the amount 3 days later in the mail. I only wish I could have afforded more. They're so comfy and very pretty. I loved that they have the different fits so that I didn't have to guess how it would fit. Their fits (1-3) seemed to be very accurate (I stuck with 2 and 3 for my chubby self).

Lands End knows how it's done. One bathing suit probably wasn't a huge expense, but with that suit & that amazing customer service, they secured my undying love. Not only am I going to buy from them, I'm going to shout it from the roof tops. :-) Yeah, sometimes life hands you lemons and other times it shoots them at you with a grenade launcher, and when that happens, I blog about it, I tweet and I complain my little head off on the phone with friends. But I think it's only fair, that when something wonderful happens (especially when a company goes above and beyond what's necessary for their customers), then I need to be even louder. :-)

Lands End, you rock and for that, I thank you more than you'll ever know.

Etsy is my drug of choice.

I LOVE Etsy. I love everything about it. It's a place for crafters and artists to showcase their work. It's a place for shoppers to find handmade goods. It supports the artists directly. It gives consumers options they might not have in their local community. The shopping possibilities are unending and SO COOL. The most unusual (and completely kick-ass) thing I've seen on Etsy is something I have NEVER seen anywhere else. One seller offers a breastmilk pendant. I want one. Hell, I want FOUR--one to pass on to each of the kids.

I have literally spent days on there lately looking at children's clothing. Oh, it is absolutely gorgeous! Lately, I'm having ethical issues (and financial ones as well) with buying clothing from big box stores. Why am I tossing my money at them to add to their already insane amounts of wealth? There are WAHM (work at home moms) struggling to get by. Why not support them instead? Plus, clothing from big box stores tends to be poorly constructed. Yeah, it's cheaper to buy a dress at Wal-Mart, but if it falls apart after the 2nd washing, then I didn't save any money at all. Items on Etsy are typically handmade with care.

While looking at children's clothing today, I convo'ed a seller and she offered me a discount. That's another thing I love, you have the ability to contact the creator directly. Have a question? Ask it. Have a comment? Let them know. Did you kid say something funny/quirky/profound upon seeing an item? You can take a few minutes to let them know.

I wish Etsy had a brick and mortar store because, if they did, I would take my sleeping bag (and a bottle of wine) and move there.

When the going gets tough,The tough use their van as a dryer.

I absolutely had to do laundry. I do not, however, have a working dryer. Well, my dryer does work if the goal is to have dry clothes. How much is left of those clothes after the evil dryer of doom is done with them, though, is another story.

So, today, I went green. If, by "green," you mean, "out to the driveway." Today, I fashioned a dryer out of my own wits and vehicle.

My makeshift dryer is so awesome and neat (and mobile) that I just had to take a picture (and label it so you have some idea what on earth you're looking at). This is only a small portion of the clothing dried in the new dryer today:

Now, I know you're drooling and wondering what other awesomely amazing new features this dryer has. Check this out. It requires absolutely no electricity; it has not one, but EIGHT interior drum lights; steam care cycle (as I found out when I went out to check and found all the windows fogged); Supersize capacity (I guarantee you've never seen a dryer with a drum this size); NeverRust interior; and even windows so you can watch the fascination that is clothes drying.

Here's a view of just a small portion of the massive interior of this amazing dryer.

Oh the accessory possibilities are unending. Let your awesomely amazing mobile "green" dryer reflect your personality. Does your regular boring old dryer have a hanging hamsa? I thought not.

Lullaby and good night GO TO SLEEP little baby.

The yellow brick road in SwaddleBlanketLand has lead me to the Miracle Blanket. I really wanted more information on the Puckababy, but I wasn't able to find any reviews online. I found that they have a twitter account (I found them when they sent me an @reply on twitter), but I can't find one single review of the product anywhere. I asked on twitter and got no responses (not even from the Puckababy twitter account).

So, I gave up and instead, turned my ruby slippers towards the Miracle Blanket. It arrived today (THANK YOU, G-D) and I have the baby in it now (she's asleep). I want to try it for a week and see what I think.

My initial review is that it seems a bit cumbersome, but I think it will solve my problems. It has fabric flaps that hold the arms down. Baby Houdini easily got her arms out of the Swaddle-Me blanket no matter what we tried, so here's hoping those flaps help. It looks like they will. I was afraid TheBaby would feel too restricted that way, but she smiled at me after I wrapped her arms up. The bottom is quite a bit larger than the Kiddopotamus blanket we were using. That was the other issue--she was too tall for the other blanket. This addresses both of our big issues, so here's hoping TheBaby sleeps soundly tonight (me too, please).

Of course, after I bought the blanket, I found that Dealiciousmom has a Miracle Blanket giveaway. Figures! I entered anyway. It seems like a great baby gift and lots of people are pregnant right now. Thanks to that link, I found a video I can watch to be sure I used it correctly. It's simple enough, but it is a bit more complicated than the Swaddle-Me.

I'll give you an update in the morning. Keep your fingers crossed.

On a quest for the perfect swaddle blanket

I'm on a mission, not from G-d, but an important one none-the-less.

TheBaby sleeps fabulously when she's swaddled. The problem is that, from a very early age, she channeled Houdini and got out of the blanket. So we bought the small cotton Kiddopotamus Swaddle Me wrap at Toys R Us. That worked well until fairly recently.

Now, TheBaby is too tall and her legs get cramped. She has also rediscovered her inner Houdini and can get her arms out no matter how tightly she's wrapped.

When she's swaddled, she sleeps through the night. When she's not, she's up every hour. You see why I NEED A FREAKING SWADDLE BLANKET.

Someone suggested the Miracle Blanket. Does anyone else have any suggestions? I'm open to any and all ideas right now.

Leg Huggers Review

I was recently (okay, not so recently, but having a newborn makes getting a quick turn-around difficult) given the opportunity to review Leg Huggers.

Leg warmers like these are popular lately for good reason.

• Protect crawling toddler's knees.

Before TheBoy started walking, his knees used to be absolutely filthy after he spent time in the gym nursery.

• Great for Elimination Communication

A friend of mine who does EC pretty much only puts her baby in leg warmers, no pants because it makes it so much easier.

• They make potty training easier and more comfortable for everyone.

While nakedness worked well for potty training, all of my kids were trained in the winter. These would have made it so much more comfortable on the child without the hassle of having to quickly get extra clothing out of the way.

• Inexpensive way to help extend the life of certain clothes
  

My daughters got a big kick out of being able to wear their favorite short-sleeve t-shirts even when the weather was cooler because they wore these on their arms.

• Great alternative to tights.

Since these are made with bamboo, they're thermal regulating. That way, when worn under a dress in chilly weather, legs stay warm and with shorts in warmer weather, they wick moisture away so that legs stay cool.

• Make great dress-up clothing

Okay, maybe that's just my kids, but they got the biggest kick out of using one as a psychedelic tail by tucking it into the back of their shorts, being one of Dumbo's brightly-colored techno elephants on parade by holding it on their face as a trunk and wearing them over their own ears as animal/alien/monster ears.

I got a chance to try the Leopard Pink print. Now, I must say, when I saw these online, I didn't think I liked the patterns. After seeing these super cute ones in person, though, I realize the pictures on the website simply don't do the prints justice. The print looks much cuter than it appears on the official site. The colors really pop.

These are made of bamboo which thrilled my little heart. The more I hear about bamboo, the more I love it. Bamboo can grow 15 feet in 7 days, so it's a sustainable resource. It's more absorbent than cotton (the cloth diaper community is raving about how much better bamboo is than cotton for absorbency). It's anti-bacterial. It provides protection from UV rays. Bamboo really does seem to be ideal for children's clothing.

I wondered how they would hold up after wear and washing. My kids did an awful lot of stretching, but these came through the wash looking brand new.

I compared these to a no-name brand of leg warmers I have and these were a bit bigger and MUCH softer. When compared to a major name pair of leg warmers, these were the same size and a bit softer, but these Leg Huggers kept the kids far more comfortable. The kids' legs quickly got over-heated with the major name alternative.

These aren't just for babies. I actually found these to be too big for my newborn, but my bigger kids loved them. My son is 38 inches tall and 30 lbs. My older daughters are 47-48 inches tall and 45-50 lbs. These worked great for all of them.

Here's a rumpled-looking Girl1 (the bigger of the two) wearing them with shorts.

Here, you can see TheBoy wearing one with shorts.

I really wish they had some more traditional boy patterns, but he really didn't care about that. He loved these just as much as his sisters.

Leg Huggers is a part of the Free Hugs Movement. "Free hugs is a real life controversial story of Juan Mann, A man whos sole mission was to reach out and hug a stranger to brighten up their lives. In this age of social disconnectivity and lack of human contact, the effects of the Free Hugs campaign became phenomenal."

If you're on Facebook, you can become of fan of Leg Hugger's page where you can find news, deals and discounts.

Thursday Thirteen: Useful pregnancy stuff

In no particular order, here are 13 items I found useful while I was pregnant:

1. Blush topless undershirts. I first heard about these from a friend, but heard even more about them from a few of the mom bloggers. After I lost a few contests for them, I bought two for myself for chanukah with money my MIL sent. I LOVE them. They worked great to cover the annoying belly panel in my maternity pants at the end when I got so big my shirts no longer did it. Plus, on one occasion, I was able to wear a regular pair of dress pants and use the Blush to cover the fact that the top wasn't zipped (or anywhere near that) plus it held them up. I wear these all the time now to keep me covered when nursing. Honestly, I'm far more freaked out by the idea of someone seeing my postpartum stomach than my breast. Plus, these work great for helping to hide the belly bulge. They don't suck you in at all, but having the extra layer over it helps to cover the extra rolls.

2. Yoga pants. I believe it was Ima on the Bima who made the suggestion via twitter (see #10). After trying and failing to find decent maternity pants at reasonable prices, I sent out a tweet asking for tips or specific stores. At first, I wasn't sure about buying regular yoga pants (not maternity), but then I realized the new pair of maternity pants I had just spent a fortune on (with elastic waist rather than the panel) were really just glorified yoga pants, only not nearly as comfy as my much cheaper yoga pants had been. So I hit Wal-Mart and was shocked to find that even while hugely pregnant, the regular yoga pants (I went with Danskin) had enough give for me to wear a small. I saved a ton of money and I can still wear them now.

3. Earth Mama Angel Baby's Happy Mama Spray. I won a small bottle of this in a blog giveaway (along with some other Earth Mama Angel Baby products) and I LOVE it. The smell is wonderful and it really does help with nausea. Dh had to deal with something that had an awful smell and made him feel nauseated. I sprayed some of this on fabric and had him hold it over his face. It helped. My only complaint is that it fades quickly. Don't bother putting it on your skin. Instead, put it on clothing. The fabric holds the scent much better. I wish I had had this earlier in my pregnancy (when the morning sickness was kicking my butt). It's great.

4. Pepermint oil. I LOVE taking baths with pepermint oil. The scent helps wake you up which is much needed during the third trimester. Plus, pepermint has a warming sensation which helped with my sore muscles. Be VERY careful, though. You only need a few drops in the bath. I also used a few drops mixed with olive oil and applied directly to the areas where I was sore. Smells much better than the comercial alternatives. Again, be very very careful and only use a tiny bit.

5. SinuCleanse Squeeze. I had a netti pot, but was not a big fan. I could never hold it comfortably and it hurt. My midwife admitted she had the same problem and suggested I try this. I LOVE it. It helps so much with stuffy noses. During pregnancy, you're limited in what drugs you can take plus you tend to get bloody noses and everything irritates your nose. This helped with the congestion, it helped prevent bloody noses and it didn't bother my nose at all. The pack I got came with premeasured packs of salt which helped as well. This is SO much easier than the netti pot and it works great.

6. Funny videos. We always need a laugh, but we particularly need one (or many) while pregnant. I LOVED getting (and sharing) funny videos while I was pregnant. It didn't matter if my back hurt, if I was feeling hormonal, or if I was exhausted; I still laughed and felt a bit better.

7. Platform shoes. In the last month of my pregnancy, I could no longer comfortably reach the pedals in the car. Wearing platform shoes was the only way to do that. No, I'm not kidding. My chiropractor (see #8) said that as long as they were flat, I was fine.

8. Chiropractors. This was my third pregnancy, but the first time I saw a chiropractor and I wish I had been able to see one with my other pregnancies. I got relief for my back, pelvis and shoulders. It was wonderful. I found myself trying to will time to move a bit faster so that I could get to my next appointment.

9. Wii Fit. We didn't do individual gifts to each other for chanukah. Instead, we got a Wii and dh found the Fit (not an easy task before Xmas). I was able to do most of the yoga moves and a good deal of the strength moves all through pregnancy. It's the first time I've exercised during pregnancy and I liked it. Dh has lost 20 lbs since we got the Fit. I didn't lose any, but it did help keep me in shape. Plus, there is NOTHING as hysterical as a woman 9 months pregnant hula hooping on the Wii Fit. FTR, even while pregnant, I still made it to Professional Penguin.

10. twitter. Twitter was fabulous for getting reviews, finding giveaways, and just keeping me distracted. I was able to win some free things for the baby through giveaways I found there. I was able to try (and avoid) products after reading reviews. I found other pregnant women with whom to compare notes and share stories plus I found other great parenting-related blogs through twitter.

11. Comfortable slip-on shoes. Luckily, my platforms (see #7) were comfortable, but one pair required tying (very difficult while pregnant) and the other pair are sandals (not always useful in the winter). So I typically wore low simple slip on shoes. I had one pair that got worn to death. They were flat and had velcro, but could be slipped on easily. I also found a pair on clearance at Wal-Mart for $3.50. Yes, they were those horrid croc knock-offs (I am generally not a fan of crocs), but they're comfy and they have removable fur lining which made them warm and they could easily be slipped on and off. I took the lining out of them the other day and wore them in the yard. Anything that's cheap, comfortable and can be used postpartum is fabulous even if it is ugly.

12. Music. During labor, my playlist came in particularly handy. I found singing helped me get through contractions.

13. Birth necklace (will post picture in the morning). At my shower/blessingway, my friends made me a birth necklace. This is something we have done at every shower for the past few years. I started it when I came across the idea online and we did it through everyone else's shower even when I didn't know if I would ever get pregnant again. It truly was a blessing not only to be among friends, but to actually be pregnant and surrounded by friends. Everyone picked a bead for each of their children and added it to the necklace. I was wearing the necklace when my daughter was born. It was so neat to have something that represented my friends and their prayers and good thoughts for me.

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Money-saving tip

Here's my money-saving tip of the day: When in need of a replacement for baby gear, double check the old item before buying a replacement.

Remember, while I was pregnant, I asked about replacements for a destroyed stroller and a bouncy seat that didn't vibrate (a feature I like to call, "Rumble Bum"). A bouncy works well enough as a place to deposit a child, but without that rumble bum feature, no child of mine would ever fall asleep in there. When it vibrates, though, that's another story entirely.

We've been using the old bouncy just as a plain old seat since the vibrate feature didn't work. Just for the hell of it, dh added new batteries (we emptied the old ones out before we stored it) and tried it. It works.

I'm not sure what happened in those 2 and a half years or so it was in the attic. Maybe the rumble bum fairy came to visit. I don't know. All I know is that it stopped working shortly after TheBoy was born even after trying new batteries and now, it works.

I don't need an explanation. I just need a bouncy seat with a rumble bum feature that actually works. Bouncy seat WIN.

Clean up. Clean up. Everybody everywhere...

I have 4 kids including twins, a pre-schooler and a newborn. I need to win this.

Clorox Wipes Decor Canister

UPDATE: I won TWO. Yippeee.

Dance of the 7 Veils

Vote for #7. Please please PLEASE. We desperately need this. Our washing machine completely conked out today and the dryer isn't much better. It takes putting things on high 3 times to get them dry. Today, dh had to take out half the small load because it wouldn't start. We have fallen SO far behind in laundry since the baby was born because these bloody machines don't work and we can't afford to replace them.

So PLEASE, go to MomCentral and vote for #7.

Please ask your friends to do the same.

I've been very frank with everyone about our financial situation. We cannot afford to replace these machines, but at the same time, we now have 4 kids, including one in cloth diapers. We need to be able to do the wash.

Please vote for us, pretty pretty please.

March 18th update: THE WASHING MACHINE IS COMPLETELY BROKEN. I have a load in there now. It filled with water and then just stopped. It did that yesterday and we were able to get it to work eventually, but not today. It's filled with towels, diapers, kids' clothes and baby clothes. ARGH!

PLEASE vote for us and ask others to do the same. I'm getting my butt kicked.

A turn for the lucky

I appear to have a stroke of good luck which is good because I really need that right now.

I won this giveaway at Jamie's Precious Peas for a great diaper that I've wanted to try, but money was an issue. It's a one-size which is ideal. We have medium and a few large diapers, but only 1 one-size diaper and very few smalls. I already got the message that the lovely folks at Banana Peels Diapers have already sent it. Sweet!

I just got a message that I won a Jack and Lily giveaway at Lizzy Dear's Life Reviews. That's perfect! We need footwear for the baby. I had some soft-soled shoes that I've picked up over the years (mainly at consignment stores and as hand-me-downs), but I've loaned them out to people and most of them have not found their way back. I've been searching for footwear for this baby that won't break the bank, so this is WONDERFUL.

I have yet to receive them (and I'm dying to because these things look far too cute), but I won a pair of Polliwalks through a giveaway at Gruntlings. I originally planned to get a pair for the big kids because I figured that would get the most use between the two of them (plus I think the Pink and Fuchsia fireflies are cute), but I realized the big kids still have some sandals packed away that will fit. TheBoy has nothing that he'll fit into this summer. So we opted for the orange and blue fireflies in his size.

I've been entering contests like crazy in hopes of winning some things for the kids so that we can save some money. I am VERY very thankful to the sites for offering giveaways and I'm a huge fan of randomness for letting my numbers get picked. :-)

Distract me, baby, one more time.

I need a distraction. I have got to get my mind off all the awful things that have happened lately.

I want to make something. Crafting keeps my hands and mind busy plus I have something to show for it in the end. So it's an all around pick-me-up.

Anyone have any ideas for crafts? I can't knit or crochet and my sewing must be done by hand, but if you've got ideas, I'm up for trying.

My current idea is to make t-shirts for the kids each with the number of their birth (1 for Girl1, 2 for Girl2 and 3 for TheBoy) then make a onesie with the number 4 for the newbie. I have the plain t-shirts (and a few onesies I've bought at consignment stores/garage sales) and a big box of different color permanent markers thanks to mom's recent office closing (since she was one of the last few employees, she was allowed to take what she wanted and she sent us a ton of office supplies. Anyone need star stickers? I don't know why they had 12 packs of them, but now we do). I also have drawers FULL of fabric paint. Painting clothing is favorite craft of mine.

I'll share the results.

All You Need Is Love (and a new stroller)

This will be baby #4 for us. So one would assume we have everything we need. For the most part, we do. I'm a big advocate of the concept, "All you need are boobs and a bed." Got those covered. Now, however, we need recommendations for a stroller and a bouncy seat.

When I had the twins, we researched double strollers like crazy and settled on a Graco DuoGlider. It was reasonably priced, held two car seats, worked well and survived through their toddlerhood. Although, I will never stop cursing the fact that the models in the early 2000's had no cup holders for the parents. If I have to deal with twins, then I sure as hell need a drink of somesort. There was no storage at all on the top for parents. Today, you'll find holders for Ipods, sunglasses, and drinks galore. Not so in my time. (in my best creaky bubbe voice, "Back in my day, we had to walk to school uphill both ways 10 miles in the snow while pushing a double stroller with one hand and clutching deseperately to our drinks with the other hand.")

We bought a single Graco travel system for TheBoy ( just found out that stroller has been recalled and I had no idea). Oh holy day! It had TWO cupholders for me AND a box inbetween the holders with a lid that latched and everything. Of course, the latch broke relatively quickly, but damn it, I had cupholders. All was right with the world. Once TheBoy learned to walk (at 18 months after freaking everyone else out thereby making them insist there must be something wrong with him, when I knew full-well there wasn't), the stroller was folded up and "temporarily" left alongside the shed. My son is 3 now. The stroller rests in the exact same place and has held that location through two ice storms. Yeah, that's not gonna work for the new kid.

So now we need a new stroller, or at least new to us. I looked at some of the ones with the option for a bigger kid to sit/stand, but they just seem cumbersome. I would prefer something light and easy to open/close, but I need more than an umbrella stroller. We bought a used Maclaren from a friend last time, but I just wasn't impressed and we sold it. I'm not a slave to fancy names. I also refuse to pay a fortune for a stroller, particularly since this is our last baby.

Here's what I want from a stroller:

• light weight
• easy open/close
• small enough when folded (doesn't have to fit in my pocket, but must not be so big it has to be strapped down to the top of the van).
• easy enough to manuver
• cup holders
• good size storage basket underneath that you can access even with the seat down (that was a problem with the Duo Glider)
• extra storage is a huge plus (side of the basket, behind the seat, etc)
• If it fits a Graco snugride infant carseat, even better, but not a requirement
• Visor cover for baby
• seat that reclines completely

We haven't been big fans of jogging strollers. We've tried a few, but they seem so cumbersome and they can be a pest to manuver.

We'd love suggestions for a new stroller. And hey, if you run a review blog, feel free to talk to any companies you may work with and suggest they send us one to review. :-)

We're also in the market for a bouncy seat. Ours is broken. The vibrate feature stopped working when TheBoy was tiny. The seat doesn't work nearly as well when it doesn't shake the kid. When we bought ours, we had two tiny colicky twins. We sat a crying Girl2 in each of the bouncy seats on display at Babies R Us. She continued crying in every one until we got to the one we eventually bought. To make sure it wasn't a fluke, we ran her through them all again and yet again, she screamed in them all until she got to that same one. We threw it in the cart and thanked G-d. It was then that we heard a father-to-be turn to his very pregnant wife and say, "Now THAT'S the one we're getting." Our twins still hated sleep, but at least we got some relief with that seat.

So I'd love to have that option for this baby, but which one? There are far more advanced features now. Do we really need them? Are they any good? Is there anywhere where we can find a simple bouncy seat that just bounces and vibrates without all the bells and whistles?

Honestly, I'd prefer to borrow one, but many of my friends have either already given theirs away, have pre-teens so their bouncy seats are long out of comission, or are firm believers in baby wearing and therefore never had swings, bouncy seats, or bumper jumpers (I believe in baby wearing, but my first kids came as a matched set which created a need for something in addition to slings).

Once again, if any of you out there in Review Land would like to offer us a stroller and/or bouncy, please feel free. I've been entering all the contests I can to try to win them, but so far, no luck. If you're having a contest for either of these, feel free to post a link in my comments.

To all you parents, I ask, what stroller/bouncy would you recomend? Are there any you think we shoud avoid? What has your experience been?

Dear Robeez, You're Mean.

Oh, this is simply unfair. I adore shoes. I admit that I'm a bit of an addict. I like Robeez, but I've never actually bought a pair new. I've always gotten them second-hand either as hand-me-downs or at consignment shops (RIP my favorite shop which has closed its doors thereby eliminating any chance of finding great bargains). I've bought other (much cheaper) brands of soft-soled shoes online (through co-ops and eBay), but never Robeez.

Today, I get an e-mail from Robeez featuring their new shoes. Many of the soft-soled shoes I had for my other children were loaned to friends and have since been lost. So this baby will need new shoes. Our bank account, however, does NOT need us spending insane amounts of money on baby shoes. If this was our first baby, I'd be more willing to spend the money since it would be an investment that we could use in the future. This, however, is our LAST baby and so I'm reluctant to spend the money. Man oh, man, these new shoes are adorable, though. Check these out. They are, quite possibly, the cutest shoes ever. The new Mini Shoez are my very favorites.

I'm very nearly drooling over these. Unfair--it's simply unfair. Robeez, you make adorable shoes, but you're such a meanie!

One of the most useful toys ever

I first read about the Bilibo at a random parenting blog last year. I apologize for not posting a link (I do like to give credit where it's due), but honestly, I can't remember where I found it exactly.

I was then (as I am now) specifically requesting that the kids not be given plastic toys. That, however, was our one exception. We bought one for the kids last Chanukah and they haven't stopped playing with it.

I would describe it as a plastic turtle shell, but to my kids, it has been a skate park for dolls, a hill for cars, a spinning ride (a favorite), a chair, a stroller, a shopping cart, a stool, a rocking chair and a mask just to name a few.

When you first look at that thing, you wonder what in the world it is. A local museum has a few in their children's section. My kids' immediate reaction was the same, "Cool. They have bilibos." As they run towards them, throw themselves inside and begin spinning and/or rocking. I've watched other parents as they picked the unusual shapes up and looked them over, obviously confused. I heard one woman say, "Well, I guess it's supposed to be some sort of chair." Oh, lady, you have no idea.

Now, no one is paying me to post this. I don't have a sponsor or anything of that sort. I just figured that with all these mom blogs with their huge wish-lists, I should join in and share what works for us. The Bilibo was a huge hit last year. I'm considering getting at least one more for this Chanukah. Although, Amazon seems to have the best prices. Keep an eye out, but last year, we found the best deal there.

What about you? What have you bought or made your kids recently that they just loved? What about the heartbreak of watching them ignore what you thought was the perfect gifts? What did they just push aside? I'm trying to create a wishlist for the children and I'm very interested in what other parents have had success with (and what items they regret).

My apologies for continuing to bore you with the update details.

I found two more updates on the situation this morning. One was an automatic order confirmation from the store. The other was an automatic e-mail from UPS complete with tracking order and when I can expect the delivery.

Am I the only one who still finds it strange that I never received the initial tracking number I requested or any information on when it was initially sent?

I'm very thankful that the prize was shipped. If it was sent for the second time, then they have gone above and beyond and I appreciate that. As I've said, I hoped they would, but all I expected them to do was to answer my e-mail and maybe throw in a coupon because that's always a good PR idea.

When this thing arrives, you can be certain that I will shower you all with lots of pictures. I imagine my kids will make me. They've been really excited about the M&D cutting food ever since I won it back in August. This time, I'm not going to tell them it's on the way to eliminate the whole fiasco that happened in August and September every single time the mail came or we found packages on the porch. Here's hoping that I can bore you all with a post full of toy pictures very soon.

Bad news giveaway update

First off, there really isn't anything to update. I wrote to them on the 16th once again asking for the tracking info, but have yet to hear back.

Although, I do want to point out that I've had much better luck with the other giveaways I've won. Sarah mentioned that I won a build-a-bear gift certificate on her blog. That really was perfect. My oldest sister just told me last week that she and my niece made three bears for the kids. I've never actually bought a Build-A-Bear before because of the expense (although my in-laws did take the girls to make a knock-off one when they were smaller). Now, we can use that gift certificate plus another $15 one that I've had lying around forever to buy new outfits for their new bears. It's perfect because that can be one of their gifts for Chanukah. We LOVE looking at the pretty clothes at the Build-A-Bear shoppe, so they're going to have a blast picking out outfits. Money is tight right now, so to be able to have a gift ready to go that cost us nothing is wonderful. Many thanks are extended to Sarah. To give credit where it's due, I should point out that Sarah's giveaway was what inspired me to go hunting for toys past and evaluate what is and is not important in a play thing.

Every other giveaway has worked out wonderfully. Occasionally, there's a delay, but that's cokmpletely understandable. Some of them have just been for cute or fun things. Some have really saved me some money. I can't find the links right now, but we've won a DVD (which we gave the girls as one of their birthday gifts at a time when we REALLY had very little to spend); we've won 4 shirts for TheBoy at places where I never would have shopped ordinarily, but the quality has really been astounding on some of them; books (a favorite around here); a gender neutral organic baby outfit (talk about perfect timing); bath and body stuff and some other things. The giveaways have been a huge money and sanity saver for us. I love checking my mail to see if I've won anything. :-)

I'm just annoyed at the way I'm being treated by this particular company, particulary at this time of the year. Thus far, there has been no change in the situation.