Father's Day with AwesomeBox

Not to brag, but this Father's Day I totally nailed it. Of course I got Jon a dopp kit and a wallet and some kid-made crafts, but the winner this year? It was a personalized AwesomeBox. If you are like me, you are the photographer and historian of the family, always taking pictures, gathering memories and trying to figure out what to do with everything. That isn't necessarily my husband's thing so I didn't know if a personalized box was going to impress him as much as it impressed me to put it together!

 I was wrong. He was floored! I did the 25 cards box and you can put a picture on one side and write something on the back. Since it was for Father's Day I mainly did pictures of my husband with the kids and wrote on the back what they were doing or why he was a great dad.

The quality of the cards is nice and thick and the pictures look so great, he has them propped up on his dresser and can rotate them. This would be an awesome (you like that?) gift for birthdays or anniversaries. I already want to make one for my parents 45th wedding anniversary.

If you sign up on their mailing list you can get 10% off! Take a peek here.

Making the best grilled cheese sandwich

I have a couple tips for making the perfect grilled cheese sandwich for you. One, high quality butter and cheese, duh. I used Finlandia unsalted butter and swiss cheese, soooo delish. But beyond that, the trick is patience! This is not the sandwich to make for a hungry, whiny toddler. You really don't want to rush the process or end up smashing it down so it cooks faster (it isn't a panini!). You really want to give each side 5-8 minutes to get golden brown and let the cheese melt. Once you have that down to a science, you add the yummy extras! If I am making one for my toddler, I usually just add turkey but if it's for an adult, I might jazz it up with pears or arugula.

You know it was an excellent grilled cheese if your fingers are a little buttery afterwards! Never again will I use cooking spray or store brand butter for my grilled cheese, its Finlandia high-quality butter, all the way. I can find mine at my local Costco and I am not mad one bit I will have to buy it in bulk.
Enjoy and happy first day of summer!

Our new laundry upgrade

I recently got the chance to try out some laundry products by Method and as a mom of two little ones, anything to make the laundry experience better is welcomed! We had been using a non scented powder detergent and no dryer sheets since we started cloth diapering 3.5 years ago. Since we didn't continue cloth diapering with Ivy, we technically didn't need to continue our current detergent. Maybe I need to get out more, but trying the key lime + coconut detergent and beach sage dryer sheets felt like a vacation. (Ok, clearly not, but for a stay at home mom, it was realllllly nice) Great smelling clothes once again!! I cannot tell you how much I missed this and didn't know I did.

The detergent is super concentrated so that huge jug will last a long time and there are a ton of uses for dryer sheets besides the usual (including used ones!). With two grimy little kids, the delightful scents of these two products is enough to keep me coming back to Method! Next time I think I'm going to try out ginger mango. ;)

Oli & Carol Natural Bath Toys

I am obsessed with these bath toys by Oli & Carol. The designs are fresh and playful and most importatntly, they are 100% pure latex from Hevea trees.
They also float in water yet do not have a hole so you don't have to worry about mold growing inside. That cheap tub of squirter toys from Buy Buy Baby is tempting, but you soon realize that if you don't squirt the water out after each bathtime, mold can grow inside.
I just got a couple for Ivy's Easter basket as they also make great teethers!

New Mama: Recent Favorites

I am already 7 months deep into my second time around being a mama to a little one! Here are some things I'm loving that I didn't get to enjoy with my first baby.

Make the Milk! tea by Healthy Mama. Have you seen this brand at Target? I am always sucked in by the packaging but it's much more than that. As a nursing mom, this brand takes the guess work out of what is safe and not safe for lactating moms. I get so frustrating wanting to try some new medicine or vitamin and seeing "if pregnant or nursing, consult a doctor first" on the back of every container. This whole line is safe! My favorite is the organic tea that helps my milk supply. I think we have all tried that other brand of lactation tea and can agree it does not taste good. Make the Milk is delicious and not overbearing with the licorice taste, it's perfect. I also have used the Shake the Ache for when I get headaches and it works great.

Safe Catch tuna. The only fish I will eat is canned tuna and during my pregnancy I ate about one can a month, since that's all that my doctor would allow. I wanted to pass as much healthy omegas to my baby as I could without risking mercury poison. Now that I'm nursing it's still just as important but I'm too nervous to eat it. Enter: Safe Catch!! This is the only brand that tests every single can for mercury and only the lowest limits make the cut, because they have the strictest limits on mercury. The taste is great but the piece of mind is most important to me.

Smart Sheep Wool Dryer Balls. I have long ditched dryer sheets and fabric softener as they are loaded with chemicals and it end up gunking up my washer and dryer. While washing and drying Ivy's cloth diapers, I have to treat them with care to make sure they stay absorbant and hold up well. I love using dryer balls because I don't have to run the dryer as long (they are super efficient) and the more heat could slowly cause my cloth diapers to break down. (And I need these to last until we potty train her!) Wool dryer balls are the best (no plastic here!) for so many reasons: besides the fact that they are 100% natural, they are quieter while bouncing around in the dryer, they soften and fluff whatever is being dried, and I love adding a few drops of essential oils to my dryer balls for a nice light scent to my laundry. The kids also love playing with them and I love having one less plastic product in my house. Win win!

With teething comes Chewbeads

At 5 months old, just like her big brother, Ivy cut her first tooth! If your baby is anything like mine, the week leading up to the actual tooth emerging is the worst. Once the tooth actually breaks through, it doesn't seem as bad. So as you can guess, Ivy has been drooling tons but is only happy when she has something to chomp on. I am so happy with Chewbeads because they are 100% soft silicone! No harmful chemicals like PVC, BPA and Phthlalates that can be found in other teethers. And the most important part? She actually likes to chew on them! As adorable as Sophie the Giraffe is, Ivy hasn't taken to it like her Zodiac teether and classic necklace teether.

Sleepsack Spotlight: baby dee dee

Do you sleep sack? We are a total sleep sack family. Jonas wore a sleep sack until he was a little over 2 years old! And the only reason we stopped was because he was able to climb out of his crib. We swaddled him when he was super small but then transitioned into the sleep sack world shortly after because we didn't want any loose blankets in his crib. Knowing your child is always warm and safe is a win win. When Jonas got older and a lot of his friends were in their cribs with blankets I decided to give it a try. In short: it didn't work out. The blankets were on him when I put him to bed but not long after they were all tangled up at the bottom of his crib and he was cold and crying. Time to find a bigger sleep sack, and we never looked back!

I knew when we had Ivy we would continue this method of keeping our baby warm at night. I am so excited for the baby dee dee sleep nest. I love how the shoulder straps on the baby dee dee have snaps so I don't have to struggle to get Ivy's arms through the arm holes if she is already asleep. I was all set to sleep sack her up at night already (since we actually don't swaddle her anymore) but it's still mid 90s here in California! I probably would have been better off getting a nest lite or nest tee, two styles that aren't quite as warm.

Tell me, how do your babies keep warm at night?

For my readers, click here, to get 20% off your next purchase at baby dee dee. The code will automatically be deducted at checkout. 

Nursing Covers

When I nursed Jonas out and about I often used a nursing cover. And looking back, it was more like a shower curtain. It was big, obvious, and kind of cringe worthy. This time around I don't feel the need to cover up while nursing Ivy. Mainly because while watching Jonas, that is just one extra step that I don't have time for! But I know there are some places that I wouldn't mind a little extra coverage, especially in the beginning when we are working on Ivy's latch.

I was so excited to try two new nursing covers that are chic and super versatile. Enter: the Mamachic scarf and the NuRoo nursing scarf.

Both scarfs can be worn an endless amount of ways that do or don't necessitate a nursing baby. :) They have easy snaps that can help adjust how you want to wear it. I love the NuRoo for summer since the material is more lightweight and fits with my summer wardrobe seamlessly. It is also made from wrinkle-free fabric that I don't feel bad smashing into my diaper bag. On the flip side, I am excited for the weather to get a little cooler so I can use my Mamachic scarf more often, as the fabric is heavier (and really luxurious-feeling!). I also love that the Mamachic is made in the USA with sustainable materials. Bonus points!

I think either of these would make a great gift for a baby shower. Pre-order your Mamachic here ($85) and purchase the NuRoo here ($29.99).

Premama Lactation Drink: Gearing up for baby #2!

As I am less than two weeks away from my due date I find myself more concerned with how Jonas is going to transition than all the preparation needed for the new baby! I was happy to hear from Premama and about their products because it was a great reminder that I need to be thinking about myself and my milk supply. I nursed Jonas for 15 months and hope to do another long run with baby #2.

I know Fenugreek really works, but sometimes it is hard to remember to take another vitamin. Since you need to make sure to drink plenty of liquids while breastfeeding, these Premama Lactation drink mixes seem like the perfect solution! They are packed with Fenugreek, Fennel Seed, Blessed Thistle and more. I also love the convenience of the little packets that I can easily stash in my kitchen, purse and car. I can't wait to include this in my daily routine once the baby arrives!

I am off to pack my hospital bag and these will definitely be included in my stash.

Instantly Framed

 We recently had a few rooms in our house painted (Behr Dolphin Fin!) and there's nothing like fresh paint to make you want to hang up new prints and art work. It was the perfect timing to try out Instantly Framed, the app that instantly frames your Instagram photos. The app is free and once you download that, sync it with your Instagram, you order within seconds! The whole process from start to finish is faster than any other site out there, and it is framed when you get it! I normally waste over an hour on sites like Shutterfly but then I still only have prints at the end of the transaction. The bonus points is that I could do this all from my iPhone! Normally when I open my laptop Jonas begs me to "watch something 'puter" so I normally avoid opening it to skip that conversation altogether.

Quick and painless and in a few days I had perfectly packaged artwork ready to hang on my wall! No adding screws into pre-drilled holes or anything like that. Thank you Instantly Framed!