Making it Work {My favorite Baby Item}

Funny how 3 pounds can make such a big difference. My 7 pound baby seemed light as a feather, but my 10 pound baby who wants to be held all day long feels like a ton of bricks. And sitting in a rocking chair all day wasn't doing my house any favors.



So, last week I pulled out my Hip Hammock so I could actually get a few things done and within five minutes I had a sleeping baby. (Do you like the stain on my shirt? I've got matching ones on all of my other shirts too. Apparently I can't eat without spilling.)

I've never been able to use the traditional front carriers because my lower back hurts too much, so when I was pregnant last time and I saw this carrier that puts the baby on your hip I jumped all over it. I only ended up using it a few times with Macy though because she didn't insist on being held all day long. This time around though I am definitely getting my money's worth out of it.



I went to the grocery store a few days ago and true to form Laila started screaming about five minutes in. Normally I would end up carrying her in one arm and pushing the cart with the other, but I slipped her into the hip hammock and she slept the whole rest of the trip.

Today she spent her entire nap in it while I made some muffins and did some light cleaning.

Were still working on making a good transition from hammock to bed (right now she wakes right back up of course) but my arms are happy to be getting a break and I'm happy to have at least one way to keep her asleep.

It's Official!

My new favorite thing is my Memory Foam Mattress Topper! Although I still toss and turn at night (this is not a pregnancy related problem) I wake up with absolutely no pain in my hips. Every so often I wake up tingling a little on whichever side I happen to be laying on, but that was happening before as well, so over all I am extremely happy. Right now I would even say it's the best $200 I've ever spent!

Another Change of Plan And My New Favorite Thing

The aches and chills have vanished and the nausea is under control. Except for an over all feeling of weakness from a day of eating only a few Ritz crackers, I'm pretty much back to normal. With that being said though I've decided to skip out on blogging again in favor of going to pick up my camera that is finally ready! Let's hope the price hasn't gone up.

I am going to leave you with one quick thought before I hop in the car for a 45 minute ride. I know a lot of you have already seen the You Tube video going around for the online job chart, but I'm going to put in my own little plug for it.

At first I didn't pay any attention to it, because I honestly didn't see how an online job chart could be any better than one you would make at home. This past Saturday though I was trying to figure out jobs for the kids to do and I decided it wouldn't hurt to give it a try.

It is Awesome!

I spent probably 30 minutes setting up our chart and now the kids do the rest. Each of my kids has their own password that logs them into their own job chart. (They think having a pass word is pretty cool) Once they finish a job they check it off and earn the points for that job. Once their whole list is finished they click done, and here is what my kids think is so awesome, the computer cheers for them!

Who knew a little cheering is all it would take to get them so excited about chores. And the points, there is a reward system involved but I won't go into detail about it. You can check it out for yourself here.

Anyway, if all that doesn't convince you than this just might. My six year old son who would not lift a finger to work or even get ready for school for that matter without being threatened, now runs down stairs each morning to start on his list and is always the first one done!

I love you online job chart! Ok, that turned into a long quick thought.

Our Favorite Things: Freedom Mop

If you've ever cut your husband's hair in your kitchen than you probably know how hard it is to clean up all those little pieces of cut hair. You might sweep the kitchen floor five times, but five days later you will still be sweeping up hair. It's a never ending battle.

Not long after I started cutting hair at home and dropping things on the floor only to pick them up covered in bits of multi colored hair I decided to invest in a Swiffer wet jet. At first I loved it. Even my regular mop couldn't pick up all those little pieces of hair my broom left behind. Then we replaced the tile in our kitchen and I started to notice a film left behind every time I mopped. I continued to use it though and buy the disposable pads, and the cleaning solution, and replace the batteries. Eventually the spray mechanism broke and I was ever so happy to throw the darn thing away.

Only once again we had those tricky little pieces of hair always hiding in the corners. Last week I broke down and went to the store to buy another Swiffer, only this time I came away with something SO much better.

The Libman Freedom Mop!
The cost was essentially the same as the Swiffer ($20). Only this mop has a reusable pad that you just throw in the wash and then stick back on. You can even buy a second cleaning pad for only a few dollars if you want to have two on hand. It has an empty container that you can fill with whatever type of cleaning solution you want. I love my all purpose cleaner recipe that I got from Here. It seriously costs pennies to make and works great. And finally, there are no batteries to change. You just squeeze the trigger on the handle like you would a spray bottle and out comes your cleaning solution. And it comes with a $5 mail in rebate if you ever remember to send those in!

Oh wait, I almost forgot my favorite feature. It's light and easy to use (no wringing out dirty water in the sink) so I can hand it to my kids and say "Here, go mop the floor!" And would you believe they actually argue over who's turn it is.

LOVE IT!

Our Favorite Things: Magnetic Cutting Tool

If you've never seen this before let me be the first to tell you about your soon-to-be new best friend! This cutting tool from The Pampered Chef is a must have (and would make a perfect last minute gift). I love mine! It's a tiny little thing with a tiny little razor blade on it but don't let it's size fool you. It does wonders!

It can be used in many different ways but my personal favorite is for opening CDs and DVDs (I've always hated how they packaged those things!) It is also perfect for crafting, cutting wrapping paper, or cutting recipes, coupons, or articles out of magazines. It has a magnet in it so you can even keep it on your fridge for easy access.

Try it. I promise you'll love it. One day you'll look back and wonder how you ever went through life without it!

Our Favorite Things

Olive Garden's Black Tie Mousse Cake

Last night Chris and I went out on the town for a long overdue date night. (Big thanks to "grammy" for watching the kiddos for us!) For dinner Chris took me to my favorite restaurant, Olive Garden, where I ordered the amazing Tour Of Italy (with plenty of leftovers) and for dessert the Black Tie Mousse Cake. It is to die for! If you've never tried it I highly recommend it. You won't regret it. Aren't you drooling just looking at the picture! I thought about looking up the calorie count but I'm too scared. Just know that you'll be bringing home leftover dessert too.

The date ended with Chris taking me to Border's to browse books (I'm kind of a book worm and browsing books is another of my favorite things). I couldn't have asked for a more perfect date (complete with opening doors and all)!