S'mores Life

Not only am I proud of the multitude of crafts I made (AKA two crafts, but whatever) for Clara's birthday, I had some amazing vendors and purchases that helped make her birthday party extra special. Maybe this will give you some ideas for your little one's next party. Recipes/food will be coming in an upcoming post. Also, we're insane and planned to do a huge 1st birthday bash, with mostly adults in attendance...Her second birthday party is going to be a frozen pizza and maybe some diluted juice for the three of us. WHOOP WHOOP. Photography - We had Clara's 1st birthday pictures taken a couple weeks prior by Tracy Marshall Photography . If you are in Anne Arundel Country, contact her! She has taken our family pictures before and is not only incredibly talented but is also a dear friend. By looking at the pictures, you would have never known Clara was NOT in the mood to have her pictures taken, Tracy's three year old was not in the mood to have his mommy pay ...

Title is pretty self-explanatory, right? ;) Here is a link to the first part of this "series" - The First Six Months: Baby Gear I Could Not Have Lived Without . I am not doing to do a "gear I COULD have live without" for 6-12 months, because I think parents are a lot more likely to buy gear they may not use the first six months (at least I was.) The Ergo Carrier - Yes, again. This is so carrier is so fabulous that it makes both lists. It's good for newborns (needs a newborn insert or do the cheap solution I wish I had done, roll up a blanket until they are big enough to go without it) and older babies. It's good for hiking. Traveling. Chores around the house. Comfortable  for the adult and safe and comfortable  for the baby, unlike a lot of the crotch danglers you see around. I have the ergo sport because I am really athletic, if you haven't already gotten that vibe from my blog. Jokes, I have the ergo sport because it's made of a lighter weight...

I recently discovered the Play-at-Home-Mom's blog , and I am in luuuurvvve. There are so many great ideas on that site and I'm excited to try some more as Clara gets older. Alaskan Water Bed This one is inspired by the Redneck Water Bed , since it uses so much duct tape but I am partial to the name Alaskan Water Bed...I believe Alaskans are rednecks at heart (and I say this with love!) and will use duct tape to fix anything. This is actually the smaller version that I was inspired to try. Maybe I can't call myself a true redneck or Alaskan (gasp! never), but I think I was a little too conservative with the duct tape. It broke in a matter of minutes. The fear of that happening is why I didn't add food coloring or a ton of water for this "test run". When it gets hotter out (you know, 95 instead of 80) I will try the larger version in our yard and see how Clara likes it. Sensory Board This project was a much bigger success. And I'm prou...

I recently wrote about the baby gear that saved my life when Clara was an itty bitty baby, and in that post I said I'd follow up with what we could have lived without. Here goes: The Bumpo : Don't get me wrong, it was nice to have, especially since it was a gift. We used it. But for how much it costs, we certainly could have lived without it if we weren't given it. I've heard of moms buying them for $10 on craigslist and then sterilizing them, it might be worth it then. But there's such a short time period that you can use this. When she's small enough, the bouncy seat could work fine. Now her chunky thighs won't go into it. Just not worth the money for us. Arm's Reach Co-Sleeper : As I mentioned in the other post, Clara slept in the Fisher Price Rock n' Play sleeper next to our bed for the first few months of her life. So in my pre-baby mind, this item was perfect because it'd serve as her bassinet right next to me in bed and it converte...

During my pregnancy I talked to other moms and researched the heck out of baby gear while I created my registry and made purchase after purchase. Ian still tells the story to everyone "Every day I came home from work, there was another package at our door!" In reality most of those packages were diapers or household supplies purchased from amazon.com with the free 2-day shipping I had throughout most of my pregnancy, but he likes to think that I bought every baby item out there. ;) I did buy a lot, and I registered for a lot and thanks to our generous family and friends received a great deal of those items off our registry. I'm hoping this list of what helped us survive (and thrive and enjoy, of course!) Clara's first six months might help another mom out there who is wondering why there are seven varieties of a single bouncy chair. ;) In another follow-up post I'll blog about what we purchased that we could have gone without. And of course, every baby is differen...

How is my baby seven months old (today!!) and I had made it this long without going to Once Upon A Child? I frequented the Anchorage one as a child with my mom and also a few times since with friends who had babies and for a long time just assumed that it was local to Anchorage. It wasn't until after moving to Maryland that I realized it was a national chain. We were lucky in that we were gifted a lot of new items and given some hand-me-downs as well. There were a few things we wanted to buy brand new (for various reasons, whether it be for safety or because we want it to be able to last through a few kids) but I am definitely not against used baby gear! I bought the boppy and bouncy chair used at our church garage sale. Some family friends who have three children gave us an exersaucer, some clothes, and some diapers. Besides all the new clothes Clara has been given, I have a friend whose daughter is five months older than Clara who sent us a lot of her old clothes and a cousin w...

At the most recent MOPS meeting I attended, we went over homemade cleaning products and remedies that are easy and safe to use, and save money. I am going to try the dishwasher detergent that she showed us; I have attempted it before but mine wasn't effective.I'll blog about that after I've tried it. I mentioned to the other moms that I've made our laundry detergent for a few years now. I think I spent $35 on all the ingredients three years ago and still have about half of the ingredients left, so I'd say it's definitely paid off. I used to make it about twice, sometimes three times, a year but now with Clara I have had to start making it more often. I will probably end up making it four times a year...they weren't kidding when they said the laundry never stops once you have a kid! We use a different kind of detergent for her cloth diapers, I purchased it but am considering making a special kind when that runs out. Anyways, here is the link to the original ...