Favorite Easter Styles for Toddler Boys

A couple weeks ago I showed my favorite Easter styles for toddler girls and today I'm here to share the same for toddler boys.  I have to be honest, girls are much more exciting to dress but going through this selection process, I'm becoming obsessed with these little guy outfits!  Here are some of my favorites.

1. Ship Shape
2. Spring Celebration
3. Vest Dressed
4. Classic Handsome
5. Dapper Stripes

I am a pretty traditional girl so number one is a leader but OMG the vest in outfit 3 is making me wish I had a little boy to put into!

-stephanie

Addie's Current Obsession: Movies

It's happening.  We're all getting restless and can't wait for the weather to finally turn warm.  It's been miserable in Ohio.  It snows, then it melts, snows then it melts.  Then we get high winds and rain.  It's just disgusting.  The other day it was 40 degrees out and sunny and Addie and I sat outside and soaked up the sun.  It was gorgeous.  I can't believe I just said 40 degrees was gorgeous, but we are desperate.  So, we're watching a lot of movies and Addie has a few that are here favorite. Here's her list of some of her favorites.

I hate this movie.  I've just seen it one too many times, actually about 50 too many times.  I think she really likes it because of all of the colors and some of the characters are really cute.  This is a big favorite of Addie's though.

Hands down, this is my favorite kids movie.  But this isn't my list is it?  This is a favorite of Addie's as well.  I could watch this over and over, and we have.  The humor in this movie is so cute.  The story is so cute and there is a lot of color and music making it a favorite of Addie's.  Probably the cutest thing is when Lionel Richie's song "Say You, Say Me" comes on, Addie sings "Say You" or "Say Me" every time it plays.

Do we even have to say anything about Finding Nemo?  This is an awesome movie for parents and kids and Addie cracks up through the entire movie.  When Nemo gets captured Addie says "uh oh" or "oh no".  So cute.

This may be the most shocking of her favorites.  Brave is a little darker a movie than you think a 2 year old would like but for some reason she really enjoys it.  I think it's partially because Merida has flowing red hair but also because Merida's triplet brothers are super cute.  

This one cracks me up.  We all remember the Chipmunks when we were younger, right?  Well we just happened to have a copy of 3 class Christmas movies featuring the Chipmunks and Addie just can't get enough of them. But she only likes the cartoon version.  The newer Chipmunk movies are not of interest to her at this time.  We had to hide this one because we got really tired of hearing her ask for this one over and over.

We actually don't have this movie but I'm thinking of tossing it into Addie's Easter basket this year.  I've heard good things so it might be worth purchasing.

What are your children's favorite movies? Anything not on this list we should keep our eyes on?

-stephanie

Addie's a Good Mommy

Addie's current favorite toys seem to be baby dolls.  Especially if she can dress/undress them, feed them, etc.  She is so good at rocking them and giving kisses.  It's so sweet to see it.  But then she doesn't quite realize she needs to be gentle when laying her babies in their crib or when she gives them a book.  She throws them down and tosses the book into crib on the babies face.  She hasn't figured out she needs to be very gentle with them.  Just before bed she loves to climb up in the glider with her baby and a bottle of milk.  She rocks slowly back and forth and feeds the baby milk.  

Love. Her.

PS.  Don't forget to enter our children's e-book giveaway.  It ends Thursday at midnight!

-stephanie

Could a Man Handle Childbirth?

I think not.  A lot of us have husbands, boyfriends, etc in our life who catch a simple cold and we know how that goes right?  Laid up in bed, whining about their headaches and can't function.  So they really think they can handle the long, exhausting, painful journey known as childbirth...funny.  I ran across this video a week or so ago and have not been able to get it out of my head.  Prepare yourselves, it's good.

Now I've got to find this machine so I can put Rick to the test.  What do you think?  How would your spouse handle this?

-stephanie

Review & Giveaway: Children's E-books

Addie is all over my Kindle.  How a two year old learns how to swipe is crazy to me.  She just sticks her tiny little finger out there and swipe, changes the page.  I always have my Kindle in the car for trips that last longer than 30 minutes just in case we have a minor meltdown.  I've been on a hunt for great children's books that Addie would like to read and have found two that we love!

I recently had the chance to review a couple children's e-books with Xist Publishing.  Xist Publishing creates books for the touchscreen generation and is committed to helping parents foster a lifetime love of reading in their children--no matter what form it takes.  Our books are designed without distractions and geared for toddlers through beginning readers.  

My Cat, My Dog by Katrina Streza is a book about the relationship between a cat and a dog.  If you've ever had a cat and a dog living under the same house, you'll totally get the humor of the story.  The pictures are so cute and Addie loves finding out what the cat and  dog are doing on each new page.

I Love You! by Calee M. Lee is a book about a parents love for their child.  I love, love, love this book.  Probably because it's all about the love a parent has and refrencing it to something "I love you like a secret's ear, Like a frosty mug of cold rootbeer".  Though my favorite line is "No matter what you do or fear, Know that I am always near" it gets me every time!  The illustrations in the book are so cute and Addie loves saying what each animal is. 

Both books can be found on Amazon in Kindle Fire/Android/ iPad/ Kindle PaperWhite.

Giveaway  The great people of Xist Publishing are offering my readers the chance to win a copy of one of these e-books!  And not one, but two of my readers will win!

How to Enter  Just follow the instructions in the Raffelcopter widget below.  Make sure you complete the first task as it is a mandatory task.  Once you complete the mandatory task, all other tasks are optional but do increase your chances to win!  The giveaway is open worldwide and will close at midnight on Thursday, February 28, 2013.  Good Luck!

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TOMS are on Zulily Today!

TOMS are on Zulily today and I've already purchased Addie a couple pairs!  If you're not a member sign up here.

Check out these cute shoes I got for her!

I can't wait for spring so she can wear these!

-stephanie

Bella Bare Wear

I'm so excited to talk about this product that I recently heard about. I'm so ready for summer and getting Addie back outside where she needs to be and playing in the pool again.  We've already planned our 2013 vacation and we're headed back to Myrtle Beach.  One of the hardest things about having a child in diapers during the summer is changing them out of a diaper with a wet suit on and then trying to get them back into said wet suit.  In comes this fabulous idea by Bella Bare Wear.  Bella Bare Wear is a swimsuit with a snap for easy diaper changes!  Just check out this great video.

Ashley Rose is the creator of Bella Bare Wear and created the line when after she had her first daughter Bella.    All the suits are made in America and tested out on the toughest wearing customers, babies & toddlers.

Check out the features you can find on all the suits:

Three snap crotch for easy diaper changes and bathroom trips

Sizes include 6-12m, 12-18m, 18-24m, 2T, 3T and 4T 

Deluxe Tricot 4-way stretch fabric that will stretch to fit your little one all summer long

UPF 50+ fabric to protect your little ones skin from all those harmful rays

White lining throughout for the softest feel against your babies skin

Here is my favorite suit.

And the matching cover up (squee!).

How can you get your hands on these cute suits?  Check out the Kickstarter page where you can help launch Bella Bare Wear.  Ashley is just days away from closing out the campaign and have reached their minimum goal but would like to further surpass that goal.

• For a pledge of only $30, you will get one piece (any swimsuit or cover-up) from the 2013 Bella Bare Wear swim line at close to wholesale cost! Your choice of style and fabric options! That is a 33% savings over retail ($5 SHIPPING INCLUDED!)


• For a pledge of only $60, you will get two pieces (any swimsuit or cover-up) from the 2013 Bella Bare Wear swim line at close to wholesale cost! Your choice of style and fabric options! That is a 33% savings over retail ($5 SHIPPING INCLUDED)

This is your last opportunity to receive the swimwear at discounted prices.  March 1st they will go up to full retail on the website so make sure you check them out soon!

Keep in the loop with Ashley's awesome idea through the Bella Bare Wear Facebook page and the Twitter page and make sure you read more details on the Kickstarter page to order now!

I cannot wait to try out Addie's suit on vacation this year.  This will eliminate so many hard diaper changes with an active toddler!

-stephanie

Favorite Easter Styles for Toddler Girls

We're one week one of Lent this year and I'm already thinking about Easter.  What to get for Addie's basket, what to wear to church, what to buy her to wear to church.  This means spring is just around the corner and I can't be any happier.  So I've been doing some online shopping and have picked out a few of my favorite Easter styles for Addie.

1.  A Perfect Pick
2.  Bright for Spring
3.  Tutu Pink
4.  Pretty Blossoms

I'll be honest, I'm having a really hard time choosing just one.  I really love A Perfect Pick but Bright for Spring is great choice for future spring outfits.  Love!

-stephanie

Happy Valentine's Day!

My Little Diva

I'm keeping today's post simple and sweet.  Addie was rockin this over the weekend and every time I see it, it warms my heart.  She looks like such a little girl now and I can't wait to see her grow into a girl with a spunky attitude.

Buffalo Meatball Grilled Cheese

I made Buffalo Meatballs for Mary's first shower about a week ago.  I love meatballs but we wanted to do something a bit different since we were also having barbeque pulled pork.  A previous coworker of mine used to make these at our work potlucks and they were awesome so I contacted her to get her recipe.  I love how easy this recipe is.  Just throw it in the crockpot and walk away.  When you make meatballs, you usually have a few leftover and I didn't know what to do with them other than just eating straight meatballs every day.  So I thought, hmm what about grilled cheese.

So here is how you make it all.  You'll need to start out with your buffalo meatballs, make this for a party and save the leftovers for your grilled cheese sandwiches!

Buffalo Meatballs

64oz bag frozen meatballs

2 packets dry ranch dressing

Frank's Redhot - I used about 1/4 to 1/2 cup (start with 1/4 and add as you like more)

Toss it all in a crockpot and cook until warm.

Grilled Cheese Buffalo Meatball Sandwich

6-8 meatballs, warm and cut in half

American cheese (1-2 slices)

Bread - whatever you prefer

Butter your bread, lay down your sliced cheese and load up with your sliced meatballs.  Top with piece of buttered bread and toast to your likeness.

It's a great alternative to the typical grilled cheese sandwich.

-stephanie

Baby Shower: Brunch Style

Last week I told you about the larger baby shower that was thrown for Mary's bundle of joy, Liam, with the children's book theme.  My friend Katie and I decided to throw a small shower for Mary with our close girlfriends.  Katie and Mary threw my couples shower with all of our friends so I knew I wanted to throw Mary something equally as nice.  Knowing Mary's style, we wanted to keep it small and intimate while also doing a brunch versus the bigger party style food.  We started planning the shower around this great invitation I found on Pinterest.  I recreated it in Photoshop.

Katie's sister is pretty good in the arts area so when we found a similar pin on Pinterest to our chalkboard below, we knew we needed her help.  I love how the menu board turned out!

The table was set with mason jars with each girls name on it along with OJ, cranberry & champagne!

The food was amazing if I do say so myself!  Fruit & granola parfaits, roasted potatoes, sausage, egg & cheese bake...

And my favorite, the cinnamon roll french toast!

Yes that is icing all over the french toast!

After breakfast was present opening...

Lots of great Ohio State gear...

Just before leaving we were able to get a cute shot of Mary's bump and our friend Lindsey's bump.

Lindsey has an almost 2 year old who will marry Addie when they're older.   Baby Liam and Lindsey's daughter (due just a few weeks after Mary) have been arranged already!

Katie and I made macarons for the shower to do something a bit nontraditional   I failed to get a shot before we all started digging in.  They were still amazing.

On the way out each girl got to take a mug with their initial on it.  This was a DIY project that was super easy and well worth the time!

And just for fun, a shot of the new mommy with me and Katie.  Being super cute!

It was such a nice relaxing shower and I'm so happy we did a small intimate shower with the girls.

-stephanie

Baby Shower: Children's Book Theme

I've mentioned a time or two that my friend Mary is pregnant with her first child so I got to participate in her baby shower planning.  Her mother, aunt, sister and I got together to plan out what we wanted to do.  Since Mary is having a boy we wanted to make sure the theme wasn't girly but still wanted something cute and fun.  We decided on the children's book theme.

The Rainbow Fish and our food was non other than rainbow fish!

Mr. Potato Head was hanging around the potato chips.

Cookies for the attendees with the book, If you Give a Mouse a Cookie.

Our drink station, wine, water, and some fun blue pop.  You can't see it but there's a book on the window sill called, Mommy's Favorite Juice.  :)

Cheese & Fruit platter with the book, The Stinky Cheeseman.  

Somehow I missed the other portions of our food options.  Mac & Cheese which went along with The Stinky Cheeseman.  We also did the book, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and accompanied that with Buffalo Meatballs.  As well as pulled pork & pulled chicken with The Three Little Pigs.

Probably my favorite station was the rootbeer float station.  We paired this one with What Little Boys are Made Of.

They were perfect!

We had The Very Hungry Caterpillar along with some cute bite sized cupcakes.

Goodnight Moon was our goodbye and thanks for coming!  Who doesn't love a Moon Pie?

I made the diaper cake.  My first ever but I think it turned out well for my first.

Mary received a lot of great gifts from family and friends.

And for fun, we played one game.  The poopy diaper game.  This is the best.  You take 4 diapers and 4 candy bars.  Melt down the candy bars and spread each one into the diaper.  Your guests have to inspect, smell, etc until they can figure out which candy bar is in each diaper.  I love this picture!

We had such a good time.  Great food, drinks and fun and we set Mary up nicely for little Liam's arrival!

-stephanie

Cracking Up

What's cracking us up lately? Addie is hysterical.  Listen to that laugh.  I don't know how she figured out this laugh but it's popular in our house now.

And the white stuff on her hands is lotion, this baby has some seriously dry skin!

Enjoy your day friends!

-stephanie

Review & Giveaway: One Grace Place

 Addie is not quite ready to transition into a bed she can easily escape from.  With her eradict sleep schedule and her non desire to climb out of the crib, we're just not ready and neither is she.  We're okay with that for the time being.  What I'm really excited about is the opportunity to decorate her room more little girl when that day comes.  I recently had the opportunity to check out a site new to me called One Grace Place.  

One Grace Place offers a complete line of luxurious products designed specifically to “live in luxury” in all areas of your life—bringing comfort without losing style to your home!  One Grace Place attracts all personalities by designing unique products using their “signature” fabrics in an array of colors, textures and styles.

One Grace Place's line is offered in infant and youth bed, bath and other accessories to complete the look and you can now find some of their products at Bed, Bath & Beyond & Buy Buy Baby!

I picked out the Sophia Lolita quilt & pillow and fell in love upon arrival.  I can't even tell you how soft that quilt is!

And the Sophia Lolita Growth Chart!  I've been meaning to put together or purchase a growth chart for Addie and I've just not gotten around to it so this is perfect!

Addie was really excited to see how tall she is.   Though I don't think we'll ever need near that 6' mark!

I really cannot wait to see what new styles they come up with.   I would love to see more modern styles like the ever popular chevron or ikat prints!  Here comes the fun stuff for you!

Giveaway  The great people of One Grace Place are offering my readers the chance to win an item of their choice from the site!

How to Enter  Just follow the instructions in the Raffelcopter widget below.  Make sure you complete the first task as it is a mandatory task.  Once you complete the mandatory task, all other tasks are optional but do increase your chances to win!  The giveaway is open to US residents and will close at midnight on Sunday, February 10, 2013.  Good Luck!

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Skinny Taste Pasta with Bolognese Sauce

One of my resolutions was to be more healthy, in fitness and in what I eat.  So I've been pinning lots of skinny food and tried out a recipe for Skinny Taste Pasta with Bolognese Sauce that you can find here.  It seemed rather simple so I went ahead and whipped it up one evening after work.

Ingredients:

4 oz pancetta or center cut bacon, chopped (I didn't have either of these so I used regular bacon)

1 tbsp butter

1 small onion, chopped

1/2 cup celery, minced

1/2 cup carrots, minced

1 lb ground lean meat (I used ground turkey)

1/4 cup white wine

2 - 28 oz cans crushed tomatoes

1 bay leaf (I omitted because I didn't have this)

salt & pepper

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1/2 cup half & half (I used whole milk)

Directions

In a deep saute pan, saute chopped pancetta/bacon until fat melts.  Add butter, onions, celery and carrots and cook on medium-low heat until soft, about 5 minutes.

Increase heat to medium-high, add meat, season with salt & pepper and saute until browned.  Add wine and cook until it reduces down, about 3-4 minutes.  This is when the kitchen starts smelling like a winery!

Add tomatoes (and bay leaf if you'd like).  Simmer covered on low at least 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally.  Add milk & parsley, cook 2 minutes more.

Serve over your favorite pasta.  We used penne.

This made enough for us to eat twice over so I froze half of the sauce for another night.  So tasty, filling and easy on the hips!

-stephanie