Happy Halloween!

Sorry for the "no post" but we have been Halloweening our little selves off today.
Be back tomorrow with a full list of things that I have been coveting...

One Year Invites

I just finished the invitations to Max's first birthday last night, although time wise, I am way off according to invite etiquette. I am pretty sure you are suppose to send them out 3-4 weeks in advance, but they turned out pretty cute. I picked up some recycled blank note cards and envelopes at the craft shop and stumbled upon Martha's acrylic stamp kit. You can customize your own stamp! They have probably been around forever but I LOVE THIS!
I used it to stamp the back of all the envelops, gave them just the right touch. Take note...don't scrimp on the ink pad, the pigmented inks work best even though most brands cost around $9. I bought the washable $3...don't!

Things I wanted to know when I bought this...

1. Letters are reusable, you can peel and stick forever there is no adhesive. They just cling on.
2. Spacing is kinda off as each letter has different size borders, you can cut the a bit to adjust this.
3. Get the good pigment ink pad for more even coverage!
4. Martha's minions' include an optional handle, I don't know now if I would attach this. It looks pretty but I don't think you really need it. Also I think you are suppose to attach it to the smooth side and I attached mine to the side with the guides. It said to hold the glue for 10-15 seconds, which was more like 5 seconds....BONDED FOR LIFE!

I already used them again for little gift tags for gifts for the preschool kids, beats my chicken scratch and makes you look like a super fancy crafty mom!

Baby Mod

I am pretty sure that after about two years as the hippest baby shower gift ever we all know what the Frog Pod is. That giant green plastic frog that hangs in the bathroom ready to scoop up and drain all your little ones tub toys. Don't get me wrong I LOVE our frog pod, really an ingenious way to solve the toys in the tub dilemma but Boon Inc ( the design team of the Frog Pod) they are much more than just the Frog Pod. They have recently expanded there line much deeper and after a friend asked me , "Hey, what was that site with the really cool kids stuff...." I just ventured back there and how happy I am. They never fail to push through the mundane and gives us back some mod design in the sea of molded rainbow plastic kid ware.




Another from Boon, a way to store the gazillion stuffed toys that pile up. If you are like me or my kids we just can't give them up, put then away or give them away. I was just like them as a kid....I loved my stuffed animals. But now as an adult I feel like they are cluttering up my kids room/bed/floor everywhere. Boon Inc. cleverly combining two things kids love...

Stuffed toys + Beanbag chair = Animal Bag!




And coming soon with all the innovation's a parent could want, so smart and sassy...
From hidden bib snaps, super stylish prints and hidden drool catchers there new layette line makes me wanna do it all over again.

Baby Boy Cool

There is only so much teddy bears playing baseball, puppies and choo-choo's a mom of boys can take. For me, I can take NONE! Eeewww the thought of teddy bear's picnic just sends me over the edge. So when I find Boys clothes that are just oozing with cool I get all fuzzy inside, not teddybear fuzzy! In comes the Knuckleheads, boys clothes with cuteness that is too much to take in. I love the newsboy hats and the plaid almost lil' baby rocker but a bit more polished. If I had more cash all my boys would matchy match,  even Dad.

Bathe in a Bucket

I am a sucker for innovative baby products. They make me want to just keep having babies to buy the cool new goods, not really honey. This is one I will definitely have with the next one, yes I said next, one day, sorry honey. The TummyTub is so cute/funny and fits babies up to 9 months but they say children up to 3 years can fit too!
This is the TummyTub.


I know it seems strange to give your brand new bundle a bath in a bucket but I think this would just work wonders, or at least they say it does. The reviews I have read (not just on the TT site) say it is great, soothes colic and settles the babe instantly because they are submerged up to their shoulders and they feel safe, womb like. When they are a bit stronger you don't have to worry about supporting there head AS MUCH and they just sit there and splash.

I love everything about this product, mostly cause I have despised every baby tub we have owned. They are all awful, awkward and bulky. Anything as that is designed so drastically different ( and in Europe) has to work wonders!
They are made in the UK but you can find them at this adorable site and they ship to the US.
www.cheekymonkey.ca



I just found out that the Prince Lionheart company has knocked off the TummyTub, at half the price, $29 bucks. There's is called the WashPOD, the ideas are very similar, well I guess it is just one idea. As much as I am a sucker for innovative baby products, I am also a sucker for the original! Check them out and if any one has any experience with either of these please leave some comments.

Oh My Etsy!

Oh Etsy how I adore you!
My most established and freshest addiction to date. I have been on the Etsy bandwagon for more than a bit, and I sing her praises everyday. If you haven't heard Etsy is a a site where artists and crafters alike can set up shop and sell there all too awesome goods. The stuff is HANDMADE!!!! I will post all my favorite sellers ans items here and there, I have a few so you will be seeing a bunch of them.

Why Etsy is so cupcakes....
HANDMADE baby clothes!!!!!
supports independent artists, your not feeding the American retail monster, the stuff is rad and innovative , never ending palette of new goods and what was once old now is new stuff...
you can find anything on Etsy!

Did I mention how much I love the fact that the stuff is handmade.

The super cute cuffed sailor pant above was custom made for my Max by smallville.etsy.com
She makes the cutest clothes for baby!

A Heifer for Max

Deciding what to post for your "first ever post" is a bit daunting. So I decided to stick with what is happening in my life NOW and just roll with it. I am a huge fan of any holiday or celebration, I love to throw a party. I love to get all of our friends and family together and just hang but with those days comes a load of gifts, especially when you have kids. Don't get me wrong I an overjoyed with thanks for every ones generosity but I am always left with a feeling that we just don't need anything.

September 1 , here we are again, Our son's 4Th birthday, what to do? We discussed adding NO GIFTS PLEASE to the invites, but we knew EVERYBODY wants to buy something and we felt a tad pretentious. So doing nothing , again, we are left with the pile. I guess we can call this lesson not learned.
November 7Th our Max's BIG # 1.......and in the mail a catalogue from Heifer.org.
I was intrigued,
Heifer’s mission is…
To work with communities to end hunger and poverty and to care for the earth.

Heifer's strategy is…
To “pass on the gift.” As people share their animals’ offspring with others – along with their knowledge, resources, and skills – an expanding network of hope, dignity, and self-reliance is created that reaches around the globe.

Basically you can buy livestock IE: chickens, goats, ducks etc for struggling families around the world. I knew that I was going to do this for Christmas presents for the Bosses, Teachers and friends in our lives that don't NEED a thing. What I did not know is that you can have a personal page and registry for birthdays, weddings and all sorts of celebrations.

There is no better to celebrate my son's first year than to give life and hope to families around the world, in his name.
So needles to say he has a birthday registry, and we feel great that come November 7Th Max will be making a difference one little chick at a time!

Thank you Heifer.org for all your work, and for keeping our pile to the bare minimum and the world a bit more happy.