The Girls

Now I sold out of these little ladies and they can be a bit time consuming so I have not made them in a while but they are still fun to look at. All vintage material and notions. I pretty much only make them by request and for special little peanuts that already have everything!

Henry's Ball Pit

I am very handy and I mean very handy...one of those "oh I can just make that myself types." And when I got laid off at 6 months pregnant that became very dangerous. Fortunately I have a wise husband that knows the more I am into a big project the more content I am. Which lead me to making Henry a groovy little ball pit all his own. Now I know you can fill a blow up pool with plastic balls but that just was not going to cut it for my first born and a mother with a lot of time on her hands.
Supplies: fabric, foam pool noodles, balls, sewing machine

The first thing I did was head to IKEA because I needed sturdy lt. wt. canvas in fun patterns (no kiddies patterns we were going straight up Stockholm). Then I decided I wanted the pit to be 4 foam pool noodles high and made my pattern for the walls. Basically I made long giant sleeves for the noodles to fit into. It takes two pool noodles per row to make it work.












Once you get all the noodles scooted in there and I have to warn you to make a pattern that gives you a little wiggle room. If you are not a good pattern maker you can still do this but just ask me so you can avoid the pit falls. After you get all your noodle layers in there you get to complete the circle. I brought all the ends together and then put a strip of fabric over the seam just to keep it clean (I totally hot glue gunned that part). After that I attached the bottom. The bottom is two layers of fabric with batting in the middle. I wanted it to be soft for Henry. I also ran a running stitch to keep the batting in place. The bottom I hand sewed on which is mindless and did not take long at all. For the balls I ordered a rainbow pack and a clear pack. I really only needed one pack of 100 balls but it was fun to have it over flowing. Now that Henry is 1 he hops in and out of it all day and I don't have to worry about his dive bombing into it because everything is soft and can't be harmed by his barbaric ways. The cool thing is it looks like it is even going to make to baby number two...famous last words!

Product Review: What works and what sucks: The Toddler Years a work in progress

If you scroll down you will see I did a little product review for what work from Henry while he was an infant. Now it is time to upgrade and fast forward to what is working and what feel flat as Henry turns 1.

Because pinching your finger once is not enough. I looked at a bunch of these read all the weird reviews and finally decided to order the LID LOCK from www.onestepahead.com. They even did a discount because I bought three. It is friendly, relaxed and social.







Philly InMovement. www.PhillyInMovement.com. Henry is active...and when I say that I am being kind. So we tested out a Philly InMovement Open Gym Session. The place is clean, super friendly and Henry went to town, made a few friends and passed out in the car. And I am sure Philly Kids Gym is nice but I would not know b/c I can't get anyone there to pick up the phone or call back when I leave a message. The one time I tried to go the teacher called out sick. Philly InMovement gets my vote!


I am going to go slightly off topic with this one. You know what works during the toddler years? A stop into Affordable Skin Care in Fishtown for a facial and such: www.affordableskincaresalon.com. I am a No Libs mom now (formerly of Rittenhouse) and this is the best guilt free place in the area. I have been to Rescue Spa in Rittenhouse and sat and waited many an appointment and then you get slapped with a crazy bill. Screw that. With Affordable Skin Care go when you want, go when you need it. No waiting, the service is great. Mary is the owner and the Aesthetician. She even accept XIPWIRE so you can pay for your service with your phone.(xipwire.com)



We hit the beach every weekend and even though my son got my fair skin, it is almost August and he hasn't had an inch of sunburn yet. I could chalk it up to being an on top of it all mom but for this one I am going to give some of the credit to the pategonia kid's rash guard my husband purchased. Normally when a patagonia package arrives I cringe to think of the cost but this is one item that I will be purchasing for baby #2. It is currently out of stock but I would put this on the list for next year.



I love Thursday because it is almost Friday but in the summer I love it because of the Kid Concert Series at Liberty Walk in NoLibs. This is sponsored by Homeslice Pizza and the Little Candy Shop. Around 6:00 you see everyone stroll or wobble up to see who the band is going to be. For the next 45 minutes the kids (all ages) take over the block and rock out to songs about dogs, frog and whatever else the band is playing. There is a suggested donation of $5.00 which given the smile on your little one is more than fair.




So I stalked these little suckers on babysteals.com. They come up like once a week to every two weeks. You can get 2 for 12.99 but it turns into $24 with shipping. Anyway. They are perfect for packing random little snack. I take it to the beach, in the car you name it. I am a huge fan. Easy to clean and pack. When you get them you are actually surprised by how small they are..but then you use them and you realize they are the perfect size for packing a meal for your little one. I think you should buy this but sign up for babysteal.com and wait for it to pop up...they do sell out right away. http://www.packinsmart.com/Home.html

From Baby to Broad Street to the Beach

Henry was born in July of last year. He is just starting to shake his acid reflux problems so I am starting to feel like I can return to a semi normal life. Granted it will be as normal as a life can be with a demanding 17 pounder calling the shots. Before Henry I was a runner and at this years Broad Street run I am going to find out if I still am. My training to date has been once a week at best. I have the next two months to kick it into high gear. I am going to run this race no matter what...I am just not sure how much it is going to suck.



New Month New MoM


I dug my Tracy Anderson Post Pregnancy Video out of the drawer. Gweneth Paltrow swears by her method...good enough for me. Day One and I did not make it all the way through the video. But I know me...it takes me 3 days tops to ease into something. Tracy A. suggest doing the video 4-6 days a week to really see results and that is exactly what I am going to do. My first day was challenging and I am not going to lie I was huffing and puffing a little. But clear the toys off the carpet because I am on a mission.

Starting weight: 120 lbs
Height: 5.6"
(yeah I know I am average)
Goal Weight: don't have one just want to tone up.

March 1st:
Jogged with the dog for 30 minutes
30 minutes Tracy Anderson Video

Steal of the Day

My friend Leslie turned me on to babysteals.com
I love anything that is delivered right to my inbox. Can't get any easier than that! Happy shopping.

What really ended up being the best and worst buys

Our baby registry was a mix of recommendations from books, magazines, friends and a few things we just plain wanted. After having my son and road testing everything for a month here is what I think was worth buying, a waste of space and just fun to have:

Totally Worth it:

Yoga Exercise Ball: This item was great pre-pregs and earned a spot on the list for its baby soothing ability post pregs. Bouncing on this ball with the little guy calms him right down and allows him to give in to his sleepiness. It does hurt your back a little at first but my husbands thinks it seems to work his abs at the same time so no one is complaining. I am telling you pick one up...at the very least for a little variety in the baby bouncing area.

*Sassy Sleep Positioner- I was told not to buy this at a baby prep class so I returned it. And yesterday I went out and rebought it. Henry is being treated for acid reflux and with its 30 degree angle this item is perfect in his crib and in the stroller bassinet (Bugaboo Frog).

Vibrating Baby Lounger: We have a modern lounger that looks great but does nothing. Another mother friend of mine was so right when she said style is great but you will catch on that the more plastic and the more crap on an item the more they love it. This thing can be a life saver at times.

Aden+Anais muslin baby wraps: I love, love, love these. They are over sized and perfect for more than just swaddling. They have stretch which is so important in a swaddling cloth. Don't make it harder on yourself and always have a swaddling cloth with stretch.

My Little Lamb Infant Swing: I searched low and high for a non-ugly swing but I had my come to jesus that they all are just ofensive and so I gave in. The Dwell one is the most stylish but word on the street is that is has zero power. After all my research this got the best user reviews and I love that the seat has an infant position and one for when he is older. You Must Shop Aroundfor the best price. Kohl's had it for the cheapest: free shipping and with tax it was about $130.00. At other sites it ranges from $150 to $180.

Happiest Baby on the Block Book: If you did not get a chance to read this before you had your baby go out and get it today. If you are having trouble soothing your baby this is a must for all parents. I will say you can skip the begining chapter where the Author who is a Dr. talks a little bit too much about how great he is and his theory is and go right to chapter 6...then go back and read the begining stuff. http://www.thehappiestbaby.com/

Tranquil Moments® Sleep Sound Therapy System: Do not knock it until you try it. As recommended by the Happiest Baby on the Block book you will see that holding a white noise machine up to your baby can make them pass out instantly. It recreated the sounds of the womb. Yes you can turn a radio to an AM static channel and yes you can down load these sounds from ITunes but I will tell you that you will want to be able to put this right up to the crib and leave it on for maximum sleep time and you will want one in every room.

Black and White: I keep this unfolded in the crib and by the changing table. Henry fixates on the black and white images and you can really see how locked in he gets because babies can only see black and white in the begining.

You can Totally Pass on:

*Baby Tub: We live in a great but cozy condo in the city and I was glad to see we could pass on this item. Henry gets a sponge bath and that is perfect.

Really Nice to Have:

*Munchkin Wipes Warmer: My baby gets cold easily so this just makes diaper change a little bit easier. I would recommend getting this little add on. I do have a little trouble with the flimsy plastic lid but I like enough that I might just contact them through the warrenty and get a new one. And the night light feature they call out is so minimal. Also keep in mind you need to fill it up with water maybe once a week. Plus this works well with thinner wipes like Target brand but not Huggies. Huggies are way too thick and a waste in the warmer.

Pass on this brand:

Clean Air Diaper Disposal: I got this one because it takes regular trash bags and I did not want one that required special bags like the Diaper Genie. However I am not a fan of this brand. It fills super quick- meaning it is often full before weekly trash night and the lid can be fussy to close. Also the batteries that operate the odor free air filter run out in like a week. Pick another brand.

Cord Blood Banking

JULY 22ND 2010 UPDATE:
Have to call out that this company has sinced moved all operations to Las Vegas. I am still with the company but I am disappointed that they are no longer local!

My husband and I have decided to bank our cord blood. Not only do we think it is important but his little brother died at age two of leukemia so it really was never a question of if we were going to do it. Selecting the right one proved to be a harder decision and I found it really overwhelming. Because of this I thought I would share how I chose a company.

At first I thought I would do it by price, reputation and years in business. The prices all seemed to be in the same range with a start up cost of around $2,000 and then approx. $125-$150 a year for storage. Please note that you can use the cord blood you bank for one child for your other children. We all get swamped with e-mails and mailers from ViaCord so I knew about that one. CRB is also a popular one that I started to see a lot. But I quickly caught on that cord blood banking is apart of the pharmaceutical industry. Which explains why we get so many mailers from ViaCord. Pharma companies have tons of money to throw at advertising making their company look like the most popular choice. So I really wanted to get to the bottom of who is the best company. One day my research led me to a blog where parents and former employees and current employees of ViaCord and CBR were ranting about both companies. The blog was filled with stories of each company losing the cord blood in transit from the hospital to the banking facility. Some of the damages were blamed on the fact that the companies farm out the pick up of the cord blood at the hospital to a third party courier service. Others shared their stories of how their cord blood was damaged or lost once it was put on the plane after the courier picked it up. One couple was even told that the plane ran over their cord blood package. I mean think about it. How many of us pack back up "stuff" in our carry-ons because we know the potential of our bags being lost by the airline.

Okay so now I was even more overwhelmed but that blog ended up being the best information I found. I walked away knowing what I wanted in a cord blood banking company:
#1 A Local Company: This will prevent the package from having to get on a plane to reach the cord blood banking location.
#2 A Company with its own Couriers: This would place more responsibility on the cord blood banking company.

Majority of cord blood banking companies such as ViaCord and CBR are in California so that ruled them out. A quick Google search let me to CORCEL (www.corcell.com) which is headquartered in Philadelphia. I go in contact with Bruce Ditnes and armed with my information and questions I grilled him about CORCELL. My #1 priority of the blood being banked locally and not having to get on a plane was satisfied as the company banks its blood in Hackensack, NJ. My #2 goal of finding a company that did not use a third party courier would not happen. Bruce informed me that because this is a national industry every cord blood banking company uses a third party courier. I did check that CORCELL did not use the same service courier service name Quick, that was mentioned over and over again on that blog. It looked like I would have to give in on this one.

Also as a side note Bruce informed me that if you, your spouse or the baby's grandparents have Independence Blue Cross or are connected with one of their affiliates you will receive a discounted rate from CORCELL.


In the end I decided to go with CORCELL. I am due in the middle of July and so far I have been very satisfied with the service I have received from CORCELL. Once I sent in my information I was contacted within a couple days confirming where my cord blood package should be sent and when I would like it sent. Since I technically could deliver any day I had them mail it that Friday and I received it that Monday. It is important that you do your own research and figure out based on the information you find what company best fits your needs and concerns. If you are interested in CORCELL visit their site www.corcell.com and contact Bruce Ditnes with your questions: bditnes@corcell.com. He can e-mail you a start up packet that explain everything to help you make your decision.