Can't Live Without the Sprayer

I have been meaning to post this as a Product I Can't Live Without for a while now, but after our recent bout of the stomach bug, it is definitely something I have to share:

bumGenius Diaper Sprayer

As a non-disposable diaper user, this item has saved me from dipping my hand into the toilet to rinse off the non-plastic liner and cloth pant when nature gets, well, um...messy. It is also great for rinsing out the diaper pail or tub too (the water comes from the line BEFORE it hits the toilet, so no worries---it is CLEAN water). An added bonus is that it is super easy to install! I managed to do it by myself during one of Abby's super short naps. In fact, I was mad a myself for putting it off so long because I thought it would be hard to do! I had originally planned on posting with that alone.

However, this past week the sprayer was assigned overtime as I sprayed off the chunks of vomit from Abby's pajamas, outfits, sheets, crib rail, towels, and even my shirts (not from me people, Abby has great aim) before putting them in the washer. It is bad enough to have to deal with these "body-fluids" if you will, but it is worse to have to swish them in the toilet! So to bumGenius I say THANK YOU and to all you moms out there I say this is a product that is definitely worth every penny spent!

Chirstmas in Coming...

Yes, it is hard to believe but it is time to start thinking Christmas!!! Well, at least it is if you are planning on sending custom cards or gifts... (***Disclaimer, I've been a Shutterfly user since Abby was born and LOVE their products (and now I love them a bit more--Fellow bloggers be sure to check out the entire post ;P ) ***)

I have to say that I LOVED our Christmas card last year!! After hours of searching on the web for a card we LOVED, we wound up back at Shutterfly and the Dotted Collage Holiday Card (I'm one of those shoppers--I search and search and search just to wind up back at the first place I looked!!). Not only did Shutterfly have the cutest cards, I felt comfortable ordering from them because I knew from using their services for prints and photo books that they would be of high quality and get here in time for us to mail them (Yeah, we were a little behind and had to rush them...oooops!!). It looked like this:


One of the best parts about this card is that it could also double as Abby's announcements (since we did not get those out before Christmas....Double Ooops!). We added three photos of Abby (birth, Halloween and Thanksgiving) so our friends and family could see our little one in action.





These cards were just PERFECT and now I'm addicted to Shutterfly cards and have created cards for St. Patrick's Day, Mother's Day (well, MJ did anyway), Father's Day, Halloween and yes for Christmas again this year! There is just one problem, there are over 740 different Christmas cards to choose from this year--how am I ever going to decide?? Maybe it will be one of their Support a Cause cards, the Oh-so-cute Cool Peppermint Dots folded card, or the adorable Spot the Snowflakes flat card...OH THE DECISIONS!!!!!

On another note, I think I might just have to have a holiday party of some sort just so I can send out this invitation...sooooo cute!

Looking for a personalized gift or two this holiday season? Shutterfly has lots of those too! I LOVE this desk calendar (LOTS of very cute backgrounds and layouts to choose from...I will be sure to make myself one if/when I go back to work), maybe a wall calendar of all the grand kids for Grandma and Grandpa, a photo mug for that special someone, oh the list goes on and on!

Needless to say, Shutterfly has numerous products that I LOVE!!!

Like what you just read?? Bloggers, get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly for yourself --->click here to see how!


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Spanx a Lot!

For the love of Spanx!!!

Like most of you, I have been wearing Spanx for years now (I wore them while pregnant...no worries--they make maternity Spanx --and refuse to wear dress clothes with out them post baby and I assure you that they were worth EVERY PENNY--check it for yourself!!), but today Spanx took me to another dimension...QVC!! Yes, I have placed my fist (and only) order on QVC because of Spanx....YIKES--does that make me old???

QVC debuted a ruched, lace trimmed cami today (and is only avalibe via QVC til October) and I just had to have it along with another pair of my must have item-Higher Power--which I seemed to have lost since Easter....hummmm! Now that I think of it, Spanx Higher Power is defiantly a Product I Can't Live Without!!! I will let you know if the new cami is worth ordering on QVC ;)

One Arm Out

Though I knew the day would come when Abby would not want to be burritoed anymore I was hoping it was a few more weeks (months actually) down the road. I give most of the credit for Abby's ability to fall asleep fast to The Miracle Blanket (read an earlier post of mine here) and like to think that her consistent 2 hour naps are in part due to TMB. But, for the last week and a half she has been protesting the burrito. She has been wiggling and squirming more that usual when I burrito her AND as I snuggle her for 3 or so minutes.

So, the process of getting Abby used to burritoless sleep has begun--much to our dismay. The last two night I have been leaving her left arm out of the inside flap and only tucking it in on the last wraparound of the outer long flap. This has resulted in a little less squirming. For her first nap today I went for it and left her left arm completely out...I didn't expect her to sleep long because she usually twitches and/or hits herself with a flailing arm and wakes herself up. But much to my delight Abby slept for 1 hour and 3 minutes w/o waking! I did the usual paci plug at that point and she slept for another 20 or so minutes.

Not too bad considering she has been taking about an hour morning nap for the last 2 weeks (then getting up for an hour and then taking another 1-2 hour nap). At this point I'm going to consider this a good start to the burrito-free sleep!

Products I Can't Live Without

So, I've been thinking about doing this kind of a post for awhile now but keep hesitating because I know how annoying it was to hear all the advice that came flying my way while pregnant.

But, after much consideration, I have decided to give it the go ahead anyway. From time to time, I will post on a product that has made a difference in my family's life, one that I have come to love and couldn't live with out. Remember, this is just my opinion--which usually isn't worth much ;)

First on my list......drum roll please.............

The Miracle Blanket

This truly has been a life saver for Michael and I! My friend Emily use TMB for her twins and swore up and down about the quality of sleep that her girls got while using the blanket. She graciously loaned me her three blankets (you can never have too many--one to use, one in the wash, one to leave at Gramps, the sitters, friend's house for a test run of their own), which helped me go green in another aspect of mommy-hood.

Like most of you, MJ and I swaddled Abby with the techniques that we learned in the hospital, though I never really got it right...you guessed it, she always managed to get her arms out by the end of the nap. Night after night, Abby would just cry and cry and cry and cry. It got to the point where I would take her downstairs and put her in the swing because it was the only thing I could do to get her to sleep for more than 30 minutes at a time. After about two weeks of little, wait no sleep, we busted out "The Happiest Baby on the Block" since everyone told us how great the techniques are. Now, I won't lie, the "five S-es" were great but the receiving blanket swaddling just wasn't cutting it. So MJ an I decided to bust out TMB for bedtime sleep. What a difference that made! I think that first sleep after putting her in TMB (A.K.A. Burrito-ing the baby (because she gets wrapped up tight like--you guessed it--a burrito)) she slept for two hours without so much as a peep!

At first we only use TMB for night sleep because I was afraid of her associating it with night sleep and then mixing up her days and nights. So, needless to say, she was sleeping well at night but only taking 20-40 minute naps during the day unless I was holding her. Now, we know how great it is to cuddle with your newborn, but honestly...Mommy needed sleep too. So, after much hesitation I started to use TMB for naps as well as for night sleep. Hallelujah--Abby took a 2 hour nap!!! Looking back, I was absolutely CRAZY for not using burrito-ing her sooner! Looking ahead--our next baby will be burrito-ed from day one--for night time, nap time and any other time Baby needs it!

So how do I know that TMB really works and that Abby enjoys this product?
#1: Not until this last week has Abby been able to break free of TMB (and I only think this is because she is sleeping in a bouncer due to nasal drainage with her feet out of the pouch)
#2: Once Abby has both arms tucked under by the arm flaps, she turns her head to the side and closes her eyes while sucking on her paci.
#3: To this day Abby will only nap for 20-40 minutes without being burrito-ed and 9 out of 10 times she will take a 2+ hour nap while being burrito-ed.

Truly, we don't leave home without our Miracle Blanket! Thank you makers of The Miracle Blanket, I LOVE you!!!!!