What the stars have to say

When I was a teenager I was fascinated by Astrology. I spent so much time day after day in school learning about amino acids and stoichiometry (ha, remember that?) and centripetal force that my head spun and I welcomed a little mysticism in my life. I bought a thick book -- I wish I remembered the name -- that had a whole page dedicated to each of the 366 possible birthdays and what it predicts about your personality and personal relationships. It told you what birthdays would yield good (and disastrous!) matches for friends and significant others. I remember looking up the birthdays of boys I liked to see what the book had to say about our hypothetical relationship...just for fun, of course.

I was excited to revisit this all over again for the first time in a long time. And now I want to go find that book, too...

Meet my sponsor, Stephanie from Astroloetry!

I am a writer. I am not an astrologer by nature, but I love Astrology and psychic phenomenon. I combined the words Astrology and poetry together to trademark my company: ASTROLOETRY as a trademarked name. I have created a tangible form of art with my writing now into one beautiful gift for your favorite child or baby! Each poem is custom written from the child's astrological chart with no two exactly alike! I have always been a big believer in following our own identity as our own unique individuals. I create poems to enlighten those beliefs with a positive outlook on your child's wonderful future indeed!

For my Astroloetry poems I use highly specific software to guide me through the process where I get very detailed info about the person and interpret the specifics to create the poem. Most professional astrologers today use software.

Tell us how you got started

I am psychic with myself and a handful of the absolute closet people to me. I created Astroloetry after a psychic vision I had about my little nephew's future. I hired a calligrapher and wrote it up as a poem on cardstock paper and framed it and gave it to him for his 1st birthday. Everyone loved it so much I decided I should maybe start a business around it. Yet, I knew I wouldn't be able to do so on a mass scale because as I said, I can only predict things for those absolutely closest to me. So, I decided to use astrology as my means to do so since I could interpret their futures through their birth date and chart through the aid of software. And just so you know, my predictions about my nephew are already coming true!!!    

I try to help people see the best in themselves because most often we are our own worst critics. Although they are a gift for babies and young children, I hope people keep them throughout their lives to reflect back on for hope.

Stephanie crafted a poem for Aurelia based on her birthdate (September 23rd, 2012) and sign - Libra. The canvas is beautiful and from what we have seen so far of her budding personality, it's so perfect! It fits her better than I could have imagined. 

Seems like she has a bright future, no? Every time I read the poem I get a little teary-eyed thinking about the person Aurelia will become one day. Will these post-partum hormones ever go away? ;)

Stephanie offers the following color choices for the background: Dreamscape (sky blue, yellow, mint green), Rainbow (like Aurelia's), Mint Green, Brown, Yellow, Sky Blue, and Pink. The prints are 14 X 11 canvas on wooden stretcher bars with a hanging mechanism on the back. Ours looks great in the girls' shared nursery.

From now until August 22nd, the first person to purchase a canvas print who mentions Growing Up Geeky in the notes section at checkout will receive another print free! Be sure to provide all the information for the first child in your order, and Stephanie will contact you personally to get the info for the 2nd print.

P.S. It's funny that Aurelia and Mike share a sign, and Carina and I do as well (Capricorn). Aurelia was born 6 days before Mike's birthday, and Carina was born 6 days before mine. We wonder which family member our future babies will be born 6 days before ;)

Sleep strikes & how we're staying sane (mostly)

It's a tired parent's nightmare; the sleep strike. Carina went from sleeping soundly beginning at 7 PM to fussing and calling out until 9 PM or later most nights. Half of the time she wakes up Aurelia, and then we're all in for a rough night. To make matters worse, our infant alarm clock has been going off an hour earlier than usual (6 AM). And that means Carina is up then, too -- the joys of sharing a room.

We tried earlier naps. We tried a later bedtime. We tried skipping the nap...today, actually, and it didn't go so well. After a major meltdown at the mall, both girls fell asleep at 4:30 PM, and guess what? Carina's still awake now, at 9 PM, and she's letting us know that she's ANGRY. We're crossing our fingers that Aurelia is able to remain sleeping, but it doesn't look good. I think our next attempt to "take our evening back" will be buying room darkening shades. Any other ideas?

Motorola MBP41 Monitor

Something that has helped our sanity is having a video monitor. We bought one shortly after Aurelia was born and we like it, but it interferes with our wireless network and there's no warning that the battery is dying - it just shuts off. The week we were moving Aurelia into Carina's room, Motorola asked if we'd like to give their new Motorola MBP41 Wireless Video Baby Monitor a try. After hearing that the camera pans, tilts, and zooms from the parent unit, I thought it would be perfect to set up in between their cribs.

The 2.8" diagonal color LCD screen is clear and the color is bright during the day, and uses infrared night vision at night. Mike calls it the "spy cam" and loves that we can see the girls at any time. Aurelia is very quiet after naps and sometimes we would have no idea if she was awake if we weren't able to see her little eyes open on the monitor. Also, when we hear a little cough or call out at night, previously we would run in to check on them, but would often wake one of them up in the process. Now, we can just peek in on the monitor to see if they are okay or if they do actually need us.

Aside from the pan/tilt/zoom function, my favorite function is the 590 foot range. Mike and I can grab a glass of wine and sit out on the patio without worrying that we'll be too far or won't be able to hear the girls if they need us. We can even press the microphone button and tell them to go to sleep if they're up too late giggling ;) If you do get too far, an out-of-range alert sounds. There's also a low-battery alert; the parent unit doesn't just shut off (like our other monitor does). We've rarely gotten to this point, though, as the battery life is really good. We've never had issues leaving it unplugged from 7 PM until well after midnight. The only room for improvement I see is that when it isn't plugged in, the screen goes to sleep after a few minutes. I wish this were optional; I'd prefer it stay active.

Night vision (Left) - Daylight (Right) P.S. LOOK AT THOSE HAMHOCKS!

Other features include volume and brightness control, auto shut-off, a support stand, and a sound level indicator - the little circular lights at the top of the unit: green is quiet (shown), yellow is louder, and red is OMG BABY IS NOT HAPPY.

The monitor comes with a parent unit, one camera, a rechargeable battery pack for the parent unit, and 2 wall power adapters. When we move into a house (hopefully in the next year - more on our plans next week!) we plan on buying another camera so we'll have one in each of the girls

 rooms. You can pair up to 4 cameras (sold separately) with the parent unit.

For now, though, putting our one camera in between both cribs is working out really well. After I check on Aurelia (we leave it aimed at her most of the time), I pan to Carina's crib. Check this out in action, and sorry for the blurriness...video camera skillz - I got none:

The Motorola MBP41 Video Monitor is exclusive to Babies R' Us and has saved us from many a run across the house to check on one of the girls. It gives me peace of mind and I like being able to look over and see their sweet faces at any time ;)

The most technologically advanced baby wear out there!

This is a sponsored post, but all opinions are my own; you cannot have them.

It was likely only a matter of time before some of the cool technology currently being used to make clothes entered the realm of baby wear. What could be better than combining cute styles with geeky antibacterial and moisture resistant properties?

Meet my lovely sponsor Julieta, co-owner of SanBelle:
Together with my father, we have created a family business focused on introducing the concept of health in clothing. Babies are in contact with their clothes all day so why not offer clothing that protects baby and keeps him/her comfortable at the same time?

Tell us a little bit more about SanBelle:

SanBelle is a unique, innovative new brand of infant clothing (newborn to 12 months) that uses textiles made with nanotechnology that protects babies and keeps them comfortable. We are the only brand on the market that use this kind of technology for baby clothing. Our soft, comfortable fabrics, which are imported from France, contain tiny particles of silver, making them:   

• Antibacterial: Using freshFX technology, our fabrics help the skin maintain a healthy balance of microorganisms which work to prevent irritations and infections, and fight bacteria and fungus.

• Moisture resistant: CoolMax technology makes our fabrics fast-drying and helps keep babies (and their clothes) moisture-free.

• UV resistant: The fabrics we use contain permanent UV 50+ solar protection, meaning it does not come out in the wash - perfect for babies with sensitive skin that cannot tolerate sunscreen.

• Static resistant: Our clothes repel dust and animal hair, ideal for babies with allergies.

What is your personal favorite item?

I just love SanBelle pajamas, they are really soft and adorable!! Babies look so cute in them.

Here's Aurelia sporting the long sleeve bodysuit. It's pink with white trim, and is super soft and slightly stretchy. The material is reminiscent of a more lightweight and flexible swimsuit. It's breathable and keeps Aurelia comfortable. The 12 Month size is just a little long on her arms and leaves plenty of room for her to grow.

SanBelle long sleeve bodysuit

I love that the clothing provides sun protection because I have been known to forget the sunscreen (oops!) and repels animal hair, as our two rather long-haired kitties get hair everywhere imaginable. 

SanBelle clothing is available on Amazon and you can find them on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

So comfy!

Projects lately

Last night I was going to blog about how the new job was going, but it would have been whiny and depressing so I figured I'd give it another few days before sharing -- with the hope that it would get better. I'm glad I did; today was great. Still, I'm going to wait until the weekend before I pass any sort of judgment on my time so far.

So what have we been up to lately? Preparing for my new job and doing a few things around the house that we've been wanting to do for quite some time now.

First, we succumbed to the Minivan. On Saturday we test drove and bought a 2013 Dodge Grand Caravan. It's enormous, and I feel like I'm driving a boat but I've never been more in love. Carina calls it the "family van" and loves riding in it. I can't believe how much storage space we have and did I mention the back row folds backwards into tailgate seats? Yeah, that.

I'M THE COOLEST SOCCER MOM EVER

Before bed, we read the girls a few books. We like to all sit together for story time so we set up a little reading corner in their room. It's nothing fancy, but Carina loves it.

 

Every night Carina picks one story, and then Aurelia picks another. Until she can select her own, I'm her book choosing proxy ;) I was looking for a way to display the books in such a way that Carina could see the pictures and titles on the front, and was so excited to receive a complementary Canvas Bookcase from Personal Creations.  

Our white bookcase with pastel canvas pockets is made of sturdy wood composite. It measures 28"H x 25"L x 12”W and can be embroidered with any name up to 10 characters. Since Carina has so many personalized items already, this one's Aurelia's. It's adorable and only took me about 15 minutes to assemble all by myself. It fits many more books than I thought it would, and Carina loves looking through them all before selecting her bedtime story. When we move someday and the girls each have their own rooms, we plan on getting another for Carina.

Now that the girls share a room we're realizing that there isn't nearly enough space for their clothes. And due to my slight (okay, not slight) addiction to buying them clothes, we've got overflowing drawers. So I hung up a canvas shelving unit in their closet for all of their pants, skirts, and shorts (come on, Summer!) and a shoe organizer for all of their tiny little soles.

Ignore the mess around the organized shelves ;)

Both of the girls' shoes fit in one pouch of this adult shoe organizer. Perfect.

Beer. After spilling a great deal of it, Mike {with a little help from me} finally bottled it. We tried the first one tonight and it was GOOD. Like, it actually tastes like beer; I'm a bit surprised to be honest. We plan on heading over to the home brew store in town and buying a few more kits. We'd love to brew on a larger scale once we have our own home.

Oh, and lots of Spring cleaning. We have too many baby clothes. My closet is full of tops that no matter how badly I will them to fit me again, they just won't. That's what 2 babies will do to you, I guess. Although I'm not sure that flowery halters are a good look for anyone anymore. And Mike has T-shirts from 1997 that NEED to be thrown out. You hear me, Mike? TRASH. Or donate. Although I'm not sure anyone would want your Middle School musical T-shirts with holey pits. Sorry, babe.

P.S. I've rounded up a bunch of cloth diapers that aren't our favorites, so if anyone is looking for some gently used ones (mostly Fuzzibunz, but a few others, too) shoot me an e-mail.

Mother's Day Gift Idea - Origami Owl Giveaway! CLOSED

This is a sponsored post.

Meet Shelly, an Independent Designer for Origami Owl, a jewelry company that allows you to design customized lockets that reflect your interests and tell the story of your life! There are over 200 different charms so -- in Shelly's words -- whatever your pleasure, there's a charm for that ;)

More about Shelly
I'm Shelly. First I chase three kids, second I chase the dream of being a filmmaker/actor. So I'm a story-teller by nature…I started with Origami Owl for just that reason, they give everyone a chance to tell their story through the lockets they design. I love hosting parties and doing events because I get to hear everyone's stories and also their hopes/plans--it's really interesting and exciting.

Tell me a little bit about Origami Owl
First the lockets are so awesomesauce! They are really well made and beautiful for any occasion. What's so cool about the company is they are all about inspiring women to good things. It's really empowering, especially because the whole concept was started by a 14 year old girl in AZ! It is still a new company which makes it exciting to be part of the growth curve. It's fun to talk to people about because it is the perfect gift for everyone and a really fun way to own your own biz.

 

I love my Origami Owl locket! For Mother's Day, I might see if *ahem ahem* someone might want to add a few charms to mine. I particularly like the "M" initial and music notes. Oooh and this cute key dangle.

Shop:

E-mail Shelly your Origami Owl order and she'll add in a free charm with a $50 purchase, or 2 free charms with a $75 purchase!

Win:
One lucky reader will win (a $59 value):
1 Medium Living Locket with Crystals in silver or gold
3 Charms of winners choice
1 16-18" Ball Station Chain in silver or gold
1 Medium Stamped Plate in silver or gold

How to Enter:

This is a Rafflecopter giveaway. Click "Read More" below and then follow the instructions on the widget. Make sure to click "Enter!" after you complete each entry. All currents count! The giveaway is open to residents of the US only and ends at 11:59 PM EST on Sunday, April 21st.

The first entry is mandatory - Visit Shelly's Origami Owl site and tell me which charms are your favorite! Once you complete this entry, the widget will give you the option of completing the rest. Complete more steps for more chances to win!

Cloth diapering 2

Some people thought it was crazy to attempt to cloth diaper two children, but it's been a lot easier than I suspected it would be. We're still using our sort-of hybrid system I described last year which includes cloth diapers during the day, and a disposable at night -- for both girls. For wipes, we use cloth (little fleece rectangles) with a homemade wipe solution (baby oil, baby wash, and water) for #1 and disposables for #2. Rounding out our "half and half method" is our diaper pail set up -- one disposable diaper pail, and one cloth diaper pail. It might seem crazy and/or redundant, but this works well for us and I can't tell you how much money we've saved not having to buy case after case of disposable diapers. We don't use a sprayer, but have opted instead for flushable liners. I do diaper laundry once every 3 days and use Rockin' Green detergent.

What is particularly awesome right now is that Aurelia is no longer in Newborn and smaller-sized diapers, so she and Carina are sharing the exact same diapers, even on the same rise/button setting. Some may fit a little more snugly on Carina's tiny and lean waist while others better flatter Aurelia's chunky rolls, but we can pretty much use them interchangeably. They take up almost two entire drawers in our changing table. Our top drawer contains everything except the BumGenius 3.0/4.0 and extra inserts:

And the middle drawer includes the Bum Genius 3.0/4.0 and our disposables -- Luvs Size 4 (and some miscellaneous baby outfits).

A few of the diapers have emerged as the best because they fit both girls so perfectly without necessitating any changes to the diaper settings or stuffing levels. One of those is our Kung Poo.

Kung Poo Diapers is a new company in the cloth diaper world. Their diapers are manufactured here in the U.S. and are sold individually, or in packs of 12 or 24. The one-size-fits-all pocket diapers have snap down rows so they will fit from birth until potty training. The diapers also boast a "smart sleeve" that has openings on both ends, which contains the microfiber insert. The diapers come in an variety of colors (or belts - ha!) We received the "black belt". I thought this would make a wonderful addition to our stash since the majority of our diapers are pastels or prints.

Carina in the "Black Belt"

Okay seriously how can you see that label on the bum and not laugh?

Features we like about the Kung Poo diaper:

• There is no need to remove the microfiber insert when you take the diaper off of baby; it agitates out in the wash
• The edge of the insert is threaded with color so it's easy to match up after washing. Since I can't figure out which of our inserts go with which diapers for the rest of our stash, this is clever!
• The crossover and rise snaps make for a perfect fit, and they are easy to snap and un-snap
• It's trim and fits really well in Carina's jeans (it might look a little bulky in the photo above, but that's because it's actually not on the setting we usually use...the husband unsnapped some snaps and I didn't realize it!)

Aurelia in the "Black Belt"

The diapers are 100% Polyester with a soft Alova Suede Cloth inner lining and each comes with a Microfiber insert. We haven't had a single leak or blowout and we've been using it on both girls since New Years' (yeah, I'm a bit late on this review). I've also been washing and drying it (in the dryer on low -- I'm lazy) and the insert is still fluffy and absorbent. This is one of the few diapers I can dry quickly and use right away instead of line drying.

Inside, outside, and insert

Blue Belt

Shop:

At only $9.95 per diaper, Kung Poo are the cheapest diapers that work well for us, and additional inserts are only $1.95. If/when we determine we need additional cloth diapers, I WILL be purchasing them from Kung Poo. Kung Poo also offers free shipping on every order, and has a 30 Day Risk Free Guarantee.

Win:
Kung Poo Diapers is offering one of my readers the diaper of their choice.

How to Enter:

This is a Rafflecopter giveaway. Click "Read More" below and then follow the instructions on the widget. Make sure to click "Enter!" after you complete each entry. All currents count! The giveaway is open to residents of the US only and ends at 11:59 PM EST on Saturday, April 13th.

The first entry is mandatory - Visit Kung Poo and tell me which color -- er...belt -- you like best! Once you complete this entry, the widget will give you the option of completing the rest. Complete more steps for more chances to win!

Goal 2: CONQUERED (well, mostly)

In my quest to start caring about how I look again, I first went shopping for some new {non-maternity} clothes for the first time in a year two years way too long. Then, it was time for a hair cut.

I've been notoriously lazy in cutting my hair due to a few rather unfortunate salon experiences, but I knew that I needed to get it done as it was taking me a good 10 minutes to simply brush it out and almost an hour to straighten. And nobody's got time for that! So despite loving wearing it straight, I only bothered to do it once every few months.

Last week I chopped a lot off. It might still look long, but they snipped almost 8 inches! It only takes about 2 minutes to brush out and more like 25 to straighten now, which means I've been doing it more often. I hate to admit it, but this little change makes for a happier and more confident me.

In retrospect I should have had the hairdresser cut layers or something to make it more interesting, but I was too nervous. Next time I vow to be brave ;)

Ack, blurry. Sorry.

I'm still not sure about the color. I keep on wanting to go blonder again, but then a lot of people tell me they think I should go back to my natural color. Thoughts?

Oh, and my necklace! I first met creator Chancie on The Bump message boards and she recently began making these adorable {and functional!} necklaces with her sister. My triple-strand necklace has two rows of blue beads on navy suede sandwiching a row of navy beads on white fabric. Around the neck, the suede and fabric is braided together. Aurelia loves to play with it while she nurses, and even Carina enjoys fiddling with it, too. I wear it all the time because the little miss has become quite a distracted nurser lately, every noise making her stop and look. But when she plays with the necklace, she is so enthralled she can't be disturbed by anything. WIN.

Tell me a little bit about your Etsy shop, boubeads (and by the way I see what you did there with your name, and I love it) --

Perfect nursing "toy"

My sister and I are both moms, she had a 6 month old at the time and was having a hard time nursing because he became so wiggly and squirmy. One day she decided to string wood beads on plastic cording so that he could play with something while he nursed. As we came up with prototypes we decided that we wanted them to be fashionable enough to wear outside of the house and wanted to make them something that would appeal to all women, not just nursing moms. We hand-dye our own natural beads so that we can control what colors we produce and they (as well as our suede) are manufactured in the USA. The suede is certified to be free of lead, AZO’s, PCP, mercury, formaldehyde, chromium VI, cadmium and other carcinogenic/hazardous chemicals.


Chancie and her sister Chandace are offering one of my readers a $36 credit to boubeads! Or if you'd like to shop yourself, code GEEKY10 will get you 10% off of your order through May 8th. Go quick, though, because they have been selling out almost immediately after posting many of their items!

How to Enter:

This is a Rafflecopter giveaway. Click "Read More" below and then follow the instructions on the widget. Make sure to click "Enter!" after you complete each entry. All currents count! The giveaway is open worldwide and ends at 11:59 PM EST on Wednesday, April 3rd. The first entry is mandatory - Visit boubeads and tell me what you'd spend the credit on! Once you complete this entry, the widget will give you the option of completing the rest. Complete more steps for more chances to win!

Treats to help with breastmilk supply? SIGN ME UP (CLOSED)

When my breastmilk supply dipped a little bit back when I was nursing Carina, I took Mother's Milk Tea to help increase it. The tea worked, but it 1. tasted awful and 2. made me smell like maple syrup. As you can imagine, it wasn't my favorite thing to have to take. Once I was making a bit more milk, I shelved that stuff faster than Carina filled her diapers ;)

If you know me, you know that I love chocolate and all things sweet so to say that I was intrigued by my new sponsor Mrs. Patel's. Yummy treats and teas for nursing Moms that help with milk production? No more pancake smell or gross tea? And CHOCOLATE?! I was like, SIGN ME UP NOW MOAR CHOCOLATE.

Before I tell you all about it, let's learn a little bit about Mrs. Patel:
I live in San Francisco with my husband and two young children, aged 3 and 16 months. I created Mrs. Patel's last February and am passionate about helping nursing and new mothers. I also love cupcakes

Please tell us more about your products!
Mrs. Patel's are Indian treats and teas for nursing mothers that help increase milk supply and boost postpartum healing. Our products are based on recipes that were passed down from mother to mother within the Patel/Desai (my mother's maiden name) for hundreds of years based on Ayurvedic principles -- Ayurveda is a system of traditional medicine native to India. I was inspired by my mother who whipped up these treats and teas for me after the birth of both my children. And I was driven to start the business so that I could share these wonderful recipes with other mothers and women who may need extra support and were struggling with their supply.

Mrs. Patel sent me Fenugreek bars, Milk Water Tea, and Munch Crunch to try out! The combo pack of Fenugreek bars included 4 each of the regular, peanut butter, and chocolate flavors. I took one after breakfast every morning for 12 days and when I finished I was sad! I came to look forward to my little treat every day. The peanut butter bars were my favorite; they have just a bit of a kick to them and are so yummy! Each Fenugreek Bar contain 5% pure ground fenugreek and are designed to enhance postpartum healing by strengthening the joints while boosting milk supply.

Peanut Butter Fenugreek Bars - OMG SO GOOD

On day 3 of eating the bars, I felt letdown for the first time in weeks, maybe months! By day 5 I noticed a marked increase in my milk supply and since, I've noticed that letdown happens more quickly than it used to. If my supply ever dips again I am absolutely getting more of the Fenugreek bars! I seriously can't tell you how much I love them. The bars can stay out in their boxes for about 1.5 weeks, 2-3 weeks in the refrigerator, or 3 months in the freezer.

The Milk Water Tea is miles above the Mother's Milk Tea I used to drink. The Chai Spice is delicious and is totally something I would want to drink even if I didn't need to increase my supply ;) It is caffeine-free and also serves as a post-partum detoxifier in addition to being the strongest lactation agent Mrs. Patel's offers. Munch Crunch can be eaten on its own or sprinkled in yogurt or on a salad. It aids in digestion while increasing milk supply.

All of Mrs. Patel's products are a 10-12 day supply. If your supply increases and you feel like you can maintain your new output (like in my case, woot!) then you do not need to keep taking using the products. Your supply shouldn't decrease and you don't need to wean yourself off of them as you do with  Products are not to be taken if you are pregnant.

Chai Spice Milk Water Tea - Mrs. Patel's favorite

Shop:

At Mrs. Patel's you'll find all of these delectable (as Carina would say; it's her new favorite word) milk-making and post-partum healing treats. Use code MAKEMILK for 20% off of your first order. Mrs. Patel is also starting a "regulars" discount program for women who have already made 3 orders and are planning on continuing with their products - but you have to sign up for their newsletter (at bottom center) to learn more about that!

Win:
Mrs. Patel's is generously offering one of my readers a package including their choice of Fenugreek bars, choice of Milk Water Tea, and Munch Crunch.

How to Enter:

This is a Rafflecopter giveaway. Click "Read More" below and then follow the instructions on the widget. Make sure to click "Enter!" after you complete each entry. All currents count! The giveaway is open to residents of the US only and ends at 11:59 PM EST on Thursday, March 28th.

The first entry is mandatory - Visit Mrs. Patel's and tell me which product you'd most like to try! Once you complete this entry, the widget will give you the option of completing the rest. Complete more steps for more chances to win!

So I might have gone a little overboard...

This year is the first year we're putting some effort into Easter baskets for the girls. And? I think I may have gone a little overboard.

We had an Easter egg hunt at my parents' last year but neglected to do a basket (I think; I honestly can't remember), and when Carina was teeny we did a small basket with chocolate {that I ate}.

In my crazy excitement {and wanting to do something fun after spending all weekend laid out with Mastitis} I set up the baskets just a bit way too early and whoa, I didn't realize just how many Disney Princess things I got for them. We'll pick up a couple rosaries and maybe some M&M's for Carina before we head down to Philly to be with Mike's family for Easter.

Easter baskets!

Aurelia's basket (below): Nala footie pajamas, little stuffed duckie/chickie?, Jasmine doll, teether, and princess tote bag (behind everything).

For Aurelia

And Carina's basket: Jasmine nightgown, little stuffed bunny, Merida doll, Fancy Nancy book, and Sofia the First tote bag (behind everything).

For Carina

Okay, yeah. I went overboard. Since neither of the girls has on occasion for which we'll buy them gifts for at least another 6 Months (Aurelia's birthday), I guess I'm using this as an excuse to spoil them with a few presents.

And for us? Well, we don't give ourselves Easter baskets but we do usually get a special treat or two to enjoy. Lately, I've been craving chocolate so I was quite excited to receive the Mrs. Fields® Nibblers® & Bites Basket from Berries.com.

Nibblers® & Bites Basket

The Nibblers and Brownie Bites were amazing -- the Butterscotch Blondie was my favorite. They were almost addicting. We had planned to save them for Easter, but they were gone in just a couple days. Oops. So yeah, we ate all this: 72 Assorted Nibblers® Bite Sized Cookies including Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chip, Cinnamon Sugar, and White Chocolate Macadamia Nuts & 36 Assorted Brownie Bites.

I also love the wicker basket they all came in...you might recognize it as Aurelia's Easter basket above. But to be honest, I was a little disappointed. While there were as many Nibblers and Bites as stated in the product description, the presentation was a bit lacking. It wasn't nearly as impressive as the photo at right. Also, I wish there had been more of both sweets. Maybe then they would have made it to Easter ;)  Maybe.


Do you do Easter baskets for your kids? If so, what do you put in them?

Just put the last few twigs in the nest

Not even a week before Aurelia will sleep in it for the first time, we have finally finished our shared nursery (or as Mike just adorably referred to it as the nest). It was a bit of a project fitting both cribs and everything else in such a small room, but we managed {for now}. Hopefully when we move in a year or so, the girls will each have their own space.

Carina was so excited as I took these pictures. She ran around the room to "show" me everything.

As you might notice, we didn't change much. Carina's nursery contained most of the same before. What's new? We finally got their mobiles hung up, put a few things on the walls, and decluttered. Oh, and the second crib, of course.

Mobile - custom made by Aprilderek

Aurelia's mobile

Amanda

Amanda from Aprilderek contacted me about making a mobile for baby Aurelia months before she was even born. (Fun fact: Amanda was due with a baby girl at the end of September, too!) The owl, bird, and flower mobile fits our green nursery colors and woodland theme perfectly. Each felt critter, flower, the tree branch base (my favorite!), and the letters of Aurelia's name on circles all the way around the mobile are intricately and beautifully crafted. I love how each bird and owl is unique and are decorated on both sides.

A little about Amanda:

I am a 26 year old stay at home mom to one darling baby girl. I simply love crafting! A couple of years ago I discovered Etsy.com, a site where everything is either handmade or vintage, and I knew immediately that I wanted to sell on this site! I began brainstorming. I wanted my designs to be cute, yet modern. After some prototypes, I came up with several baby mobile designs. I was hooked and still am :-)

We put Aurelia in her crib for a few minutes today to let her become acquainted with it. Upon setting her down, she stared right at the mobile and cooed. I think it's safe to say she likes it. Carina pointed at it and said, "that's amazing!" too. Thanks so much for making such an adorable mobile, Amanda :)

Well there you have it...the nest is finished and hopefully {fingers crossed} Aurelia will sleep in it happily come Friday night. I am so eager -- and nervous -- to see how they manage sleeping together in the same room. If your kids share a room, how does it go?