Registering With Brands & Welcome Packages.

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One of the things I love most during this time in my pregnancy is the fact that I get to register for some of my favorite baby brands and receive small samples of their products. 

I love seeing the cute little "Welcome" packages in the mail! Recently, I registered both Baby J. and Little VP for the baby brand Hipp. This is a wonderful brand and their products not only look nice but are priced reasonably. 

I also love the fact that every couple of months they send out a sweet little package for the Baby & Toddler. So, Baby J. will soon be receiving his package to celebrate turning one year old (my gosh, does time fly!) in a few months and Little VP has received his first package this week. Even though he's not here yet I loved opening the "Welcome" package! Besides very useful pamphlets about breastfeeding and what to expect when Baby VP arrives there were also some little samples and a toy for the Baby in the box!

Little VP received a
 Baby Bath Shampoo & Baby Rash Cream

There was also a little toy rattle in the box!

There are a few other brands I love as well such as Pampers, MAM, Aptamil, and so on. I love that their websites provide both pregnancy as well as weekly/monthly updates on baby & toddler. And occasionally they send out samples of their product or notify you of a sale that will happen in your area. 

Another thing I love is that a lot of stores in our area allow you to update your store club-card with new family information if there's a need. Which was great because I finally got around to registering both Baby J. and Little VP. This lead to one of our favorite store from which I buy items like diapers, wet wipes, bottles, pacifiers, and so on to notify me that they had a "Welcome" package set aside for Baby J.! I was absolutely thrilled! 

So, on the following trip into town I went and picked up the package. And Baby J. and I loved opening it! There were a few things in the box but Baby J.'s favorite was the little story book. 

We were also told that once Little VP arrives he'd receive his own little "Welcome" package as well. Isn't that just totally neat?

Baby J. received a Book, Bib, Bottle, Wet Wipes,
Hand & Face Wipes, And A Diaper Rash Cream Sample!

Of course, the store also decided to share some "coupon love" with the Mommy as well! Which is great, I get to choose one item of my choice and received 25% off! I can't wait to use it...still trying to decide between a new body lotion, bath set, or perfume. 

Do stores in your area offer great "Welcome" packages as well? Did you receive anything special for your little one after registering for a loved brand? Which brands are some of your favorites?

                                         

Keeping Memories For Your Little One

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One of my favorite places to shop at is the "Dollar Store". Now granted, not everything is sold for a dollar but you can still find some really nice stuff there. That's were Baby J. and I spent a small part of our weekend this time around. Of course, he didn't really have much of a choice but still, I think we both got something nice out of our shopping spree. If you can call buying three items a shopping spree.

One of the things I really wanted to get was a nice looking notebook. And I did. Isn't it pretty?

I love the fact that it has a variety of colored paper, then it has some lined paper and even a few pages of checkered paper. My purpose in buying this notebook was to be able to have it on hand in case an idea for my blog would come along and also to be able to jot down the different Blog STATs each month. I do eventually plan to make myself a blog calendar but for now I think this will do. Actually, it works perfectly. I've been enjoying writing down little blurbs of what I plan to write for The Everyday Mommy Blog. (And oh, I've got one or two funny stories up my sleeves!) I've been using the plain white paper to keep track of how many page views I have per day and so on.

It almost made me reconsider going through the trouble of finding the "perfect" blog calendar but after a lot of reading up on the importance of taking your blogging seriously. Well, I plan to do just that. I want my readers to be able to enjoy regular blog posts and most importantly good content. Which the blog calendar will help me keep on track with the posting but I really do believe I will continue to use my notebook. In the space of a few days it's become very important to me.

Baby J. also received a notebook. Actually, he didn't receive it I bought it to write in for him. A while back I read a wonderful blog post about keeping a journal for your baby. The blogger mentioned how she would write a few lines about each day in her baby's journal and how once he was old enough she would share it with him.

I was so inspired by her blog post that I went and searched for a small journal for Baby J. 

I found a few that really struck my fancy but I wanted something that had that "Baby Vibe" to it. That's when I came upon this cute little journal. It's not very big so it fits perfectly into our diaper bag. And in the evenings I can just grab it and write down a few things about the day for him. I want to keep it in the diaper bag because we love to take long walks every other day and just in case I see something that I want to jot down right then and there I want to have the journal on hand. 

Later after we fill up this one, I plan to get a more "big kids" journal and continue this new journaling habit. I think it will be a great way for both Baby J. and I to walk down memory lane together when he's older.

Like I mentioned a little bit earlier, I was very inspired by this young ladies post. So, I'm going to search around and see if I can again find it and provide all of you with the link. That way you read for yourself just what a great idea this is. And who knows, maybe even start journaling for your little one as well. 

It's never to late to start.

 Baby J. is 10 months old already and I'm only just starting. I do plan on going back to my pregnancy journal and taking a few of my favorite (they're all my favorites but I would end up filling my journal) memories from there and transcribing them in here. I also want to write down at least one memory for each month until we reach today's date so that his journal won't just start off straight at 10 months. Instead it will have a few earlier memories as well.

Since I've been never able to figure out just how exactly scrapbooking works I think this is a nice alternative.

How do you keep memories for your little one? Do you journal as well or scrapbook? Let me know in a comment below!

From Me To You : Fun Summer Activities To Do With Your Baby.

I don't know for the rest of the world but over here it's starting to look a little bit like summer. Just a little. We still get the occasional thunderstorms and rain.
Which is why I thought I should share with you some of the things you can do with your baby or toddler this summer. 

Here's my personal list of Fun Summer Activities To Do With Your Baby:

1. The park - He/She might be a baby but they'll still love being outside. The park is one of the most perfect places to take a baby to, it provides a variety of activities that you can do with your little one no matter their age. My personal suggestion-try the baby swing it might take a little getting used to for some babies but in the end they'll love it. Baby J. loves to swing and thanks to the baby swing one of the little parks nearby he can enjoy that activity plenty.

2.The zoo - Little ones will love seeing the many different animals. You will too. Plus, it will provide a great way to sneak in some exercise and to top it all off the baby might just fall asleep for a prolonged nap...fresh air tends to do that.

3. Strawberry/berry picking - Newborns might have a little trouble with this but in general babies will love this. You might end up doing all the picking but they'll do plenty of snacking! Personal note - Baby J. tried his first real strawberry at 8 months and he's been hooked ever since!

4. The Pool - This is an activity that all ages can enjoy. And summer is the perfect time for it. Hit the kid friendly pool (or set one up in your backyard!) and enjoy not only the sunshine but watching the little one splash around. Just make sure to bring along plenty of sunscreen. 

5. Take A Walk - This can be done anywhere. All you'll need is some good shoes, your stroller, water, and of course your baby. Personally, Baby J. and I try to take a walk every other day we love visiting different areas in our neighborhood and on days that are extra sunny and warm we make a pit stop for ice cream.

6. A Picnic- Who doesn't love some time in the sun and good food. Everyone does. Whether your definition of food is a bottle of milk or a delicious sandwich. Take your little one to one of your favorite spots, spread out a blanket, and spend some quality one on one time relaxing together while enjoying the view.

7. Backyard Gatherings - These can be done with just family or you can include your friends. Either way baby is bound to love these because of the many people present who will be wanting to spend some time with him/her. The best part is this can be done right in your backyard and does not need to involve a lot of money spending. Instead it provides the perfect opportunity for the little one to make friends with your friends and get to know the family better. On a side note - Baby J., hubby, and I just spent last weekend doing this exact activity. We had a blast spending time with friends and family and eating some delicious grilled chicken while the kids spent time playing together.

I tried to think of only activities that you can do OUTSIDE with your little one. The summer is still just beginning so the heat won't be that intolerable. Just remember to always have sunscreen with you and a hat for the little one. As well as plenty of fluids to keep you and the baby hydrated. 


What are some of the activities that you like to do with your little one during the summer? Let me know in a comment below!

Our Shopping Results.

So, we went shopping and had a grand time!
I didn't manage to get everything on our list but I did get some stuff and I even bought myself something. That makes me super happy.

Without further ado...

my new dress for after giving birth

the dress is actually the exact color of the
striped shirt below

it matches the skirt perfectly

one more treat for myself,,,my huge pregnant
belly made me run out of t-shirts

loving the shoes, they can
be worn two ways

loving the inscription

thought this was appropriate since
he is the boss here at the everyday mommy
headquarters.

my favorite

I also decided to hold off on anymore clothes and shoe shopping for Baby J. until September. There's a HUGE second hand sale then and I want to save up every penny to go SUPER bargain hunting then. A lot of his clothes that he wears now are from last years second hand sale. I actually bought every piece of clothing with brand new with tags attached AND spent spent half the money I did today. So, needless to say I'm excited about September!

Don't get me wrong. I love shopping in stores too!



Do you prefer in store shopping, second hand shopping, or a little of both?

Let me know your thoughts in a comment below!

Nightmare At 3 A.M.

Seriously, this week was the week were Baby J. decided to wake up before 5 A.M. more than once. I almost felt like going back in time and telling myself to stop complaining - 5 A.M.? That's a GREAT time to wake up compared with 3 A.M. and even 4 A.M.!

The first time this happened I kid you not my brain could not comprehend why in the world I needed to get out of bed while it was pitch black outside. 
I remember hearing a lot and I do mean A LOT of screaming and trying to figure out if there was a robbery going on or if someone got hurt. Then I realized that the screaming was coming from a very awake and very upset baby. So, you know I shot to my feet and grabbed him into my arms...well, maybe it was more like struggled to sit up,picked him up, and then THEN it hit me.

Why wasn't hubby reacting to Baby J. screaming his lungs out?I mean he was only on the other side of the bed...the screaming couldn't possibly be any quieter over there than on my side.

So, I turn around to see if Hubby was still sleeping only to get a mini scare. There by hubby's side of the bed was this gigantic guy with a cape! Or at least it was a cape until he bent over and grabbed some earplugs of off the nightstand. And revealed his identity to be that of Hubby. 

Next thing, I know is that Hubby is patting me on the shoulder and wishing me a good-night, kissing Baby J. on the cheek, carrying his blanket in one hand, while very casually stuffing the earplugs into his ears with the other. 
I couldn't believe it! He actually went to sleep in the spare room while leaving me to deal with Baby J. on my own!

I mean it's not like he hasn't had to take refugee in the other room, but that was because both I and the baby were sick and we didn't want him to get sick as well and miss work. But this, well this was just an upset baby needing to be calmed no reason to rush out of the room as if your heels were on fire!

Baby J. did end up going back to sleep sometime after 5:15A.M. By then I was totally ready to drop back into bed myself. Sadly, once 6A.M. rolled around Baby J. was ready to start the day. 

You know the early bird gets the worm - type of deal.

After another two days of this we were the happiest people on earth when we woke up today and saw that it was 6A.M.! And not 3 or 4.

Of course, we also got a good laugh out of me thinking hubby was wearing a cape and him rushing out of the room with the earplugs.

We still get a good laugh when we think of how the young boss had the old boss on the run!

The Everyday Mommy On A Rainy Day.

It's definitely not the sunny weather outside that everyone has been expecting.

I was just a tad bit disappointed because I'd hoped to get some playground time into our very relaxed schedule for today. The rain though is kind of making that impossible.

So instead little Baby J. went down for an early morning nap,he woke up at 5 A.M. ...again. And mommy went a little wild. 

Oh yea below is a picture of the party scene:

Oh yes, that's Nutella. Go ahead and drool...it was so yummy!

Nothing better than a nice cup of tea and a good book on a rainy day.

Rainy days tend to bring out the wild side of me. I actually allow myself time to breakfast and ...GASP...read!! And that cup of tea was absolutely delicious! It was a blackberry and raspberry tea.

After actually getting around to eating and even reading two absolutely wonderful chapters. (I haven't had time to read in forever so this was a real treat) Baby J. started to whine from the bedroom so I went and laid next to him in bed and even got in a wonderful hour of extra sleep!!

The world must be coming to an end because today is just going unbelievably great! I've gotten to eat breakfast, read, and even nap a little!! It's almost too good to be true. Except that it is. True, I mean.

Next up, was lunchtime which Baby J. helped me pick out. He has such good taste this child of mine. 

I know, I know that looks more like breakfast but it really hit the spot for all of us. A salami with margarine roll, some grape tomatoes, Gouda cheese, and scrambled eggs. Why are the scrambled eggs that color? Are they burnt? Nope not burnt, we just love adding some paprika to them before letting them hit the pan. It gives the eggs a nice color and makes them extra yummy.

Baby J. got to enjoy his very first taste of tomatoes, cheese, and scrambled eggs. He loved them all! He made sure to follow in mommy's footsteps and wash everything down with some water and something sweet. Namely, a milch-schnitte. A milch-schnitte, is absolutely yummy according to Baby J. Who went as far as getting it not just in his mouth but all over his face,hands, clothes, in his hair and even his ears!!

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Everyone at Mommy Headquarters agrees these must be on hand at all times...you know for the times you need something sweet.

Baby J. ended up taking a bath and we then played a few games. Now it's time for another nap. 

For the both of us. Better said the three of us, Baby#2 has no choice but to join in the fun of sleeping.

I LOVE RAINY DAYS.

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Blah, Who Needs Sleep? It's Way Overrated!

Today started off as a wrong-foot forward kind of day. 

Baby J. decided he had enough sleep somewhere around 4A.M. and since he absolutely loves his mommy so SO much he also made sure to wake me up with loads of giggles and kisses. Now, I don't mind the kisses or even the giggles. What I do mind is that this was all happening at 4A.M.!

The world is still sleeping at that time and we should have been as well. Of course, I tried all the mommy tricks that I could think up. 

First, I gently hushed him and tried offering the pacifier. A firm shake of the head and some more giggles let me know that wouldn't work. Next, I sat up took him into my arms and tried rocking back and forth while humming a soft tune. Once again, a few pinches to my cheeks and some giggles at my "OUCH!" pronounced this try a fail. Then, I stood up and paced the length of the room while still humming...another fail. Finally, I headed to the kitchen with a very awake Baby J. grabbed a bottle of milk and headed back to the bedroom. The warm milk did the trick. He immediately started getting drowsy and we got to lay in bed for another 30 minutes while he took his sweet time drinking his bottle. Best 30 minutes EVER!! 

What stunk was the fact that all the above tries took me around 30 minutes so by the time the bottle was empty it was only 5A.M. and Baby J. was still half-asleep and getting to the dangerous point of fully awake. 

Again the rocking and humming was tried and the pacifier was offered and thank goodness he fell asleep.

In my still half-asleep mind frame I decided not to risk the switch from our bed to the crib but to let him sleep with me. It worked well, until Baby#2 decided to practice some kicks and punches and landed some under Baby J.'s hand that was on my belly. I came fully awake when the screaming started. Apparently, it is of topmost importance to start screaming when your yet-to-be-born brother kicks your hand. 

So, 5:15 A.M. welcomed us with open arms. 

Ever since then Baby J. has been having trouble sleeping. His morning nap lasted about 15-20 minutes instead of the regular hour and a half. His afternoon nap also lasted about an hour instead of the usual two hours. 

What is happening to his sleep??? Any ideas?

I can't keep this schedule up, it's been pretty bad sleep wise ever since he hit 3 months old. But we both got used to the wacky schedule and have managed to survive. So, why the sudden change in his sleeping schedule?

 I'm actually praying we'll return to our regular schedule by tonight but I'm not holding my breath.

Avoid Texting The Grocery List.

Baby J. is currently napping, so I thought I'd do something useful with my time.

We here at Everyday Mommy Headquarters have fallen in love with becoming more and more organized. Now, it's completely true that some of us (hint: Baby J.) enjoy emptying the toy box and pulling shoes off the shelf much more than participating in a good cleaning session. That's perfectly fine for now, but the day is coming when my little baby will no longer be so little and pulling shoes off the shelf will no longer be acceptable around here.

Today after Baby J. fell asleep Hubby was so kind to offer to go grocery shopping which lead to the following conversation.

Hubby: Need anything from the store?

Me:Yes, can you grab something to write out the list?

Hubby: (looks around the room) There's nothing to write on, why is there nothing to write on around here?

Me: Never mind I'll text it to you.

Hubby: Sounds good hopefully I won't forget to check my messages. 

So, right after Hubby left and I managed to sneak away from Baby J.'s side I grabbed the laptop and got busy with my first of hopefully many more such projects. 

I had fun doing this and plan to print out several such copies to make a miniature pad of them. I'm also going to pin them to the kitchen command center and that way we'll always know where they are. 

Now please do keep in mind this is my first time making something like this so I stuck to the phrase "less is more" when I made it. But time and practice I'm sure will have me turning out some really nice stuff. I did want something pretty on there as well so that's were the flowers came in.

Well, I hope you all who are silently reading my blog get to enjoy this Grocery List as much as I will. We definitely needed something like this to help keep us organized when it comes to making grocery lists. We unfortunately, developed the bad habit of sending texts to each other with items that needed to be bought in hopes that one of us will remember the whole list or at least check their phone for it. Let's just say more often than not that method failed completely. Which is why I'm so excited about trying this out and hopefully it will replace the text method completely.

Feel free to print it out. 

Looking Back...

This week has been unbelievably busy and filled with stress.

And stress is a big no-no for pregnancy. Yet, is there really a way to completely avoid it? 

We started the week off great on Monday but once Wednesday and the stress got going.

Tuesday was spent trying to clean up the house as much as possible. We also spent a wonderful chunk of our time playing in the community park. Baby J. loves the swing and a big portion of our time was spent on it. We also tried out the slide but he's still a little to young and small to enjoy it the way its meant. Make no mistake, we still had us a good time sliding down it but only from the middle since any higher would have caused me to have to let go of him. 

Tuesday was also the day Baby J. turned 9 months old. Our little baby is getting closer and closer to his first birthday. We, hubby included, had a wonderful evening of relaxing on the couch with Baby J. and talking about our memories of Baby J.'s first minutes in this world and then the days that followed. We laughed and I'll admit I shed a few tears as well at the wonderful memories we were granted the grace to create and share together with our little bundle of joy. 

Wednesday showed itself as a bright and beautiful morning but sadly the events that followed took out some of the joy of the day. Actually, it was mostly just a single letter that came in the mail that caused us unnecessary stress. You see, no one here at Everyday Mommy Headquarters enjoys big bills. Especially when we've been trying to save money. After several stress filled phone calls to the company that sent us the bill, it was determined there was nothing we could do except pay it. So, I did and in the one moment all that stress was gone.

Of course, each day has its own problems and so Thursday found us with another letter from the phone company. It too wanted to get a hefty chunk of money out of us. After another series of phone calls, Hubby and I decided this was ridiculous so we wanted to talk to someone regarding this bill because the explanation for the amount due that we received was definitely not good enough.

Which brings us to today. After an early visit with a person that was able to give us some insight into what we could do about this bill; Baby J. and I decided to stop for a milkshake and cookie for me and a nice soft pretzel for him. Our walk home was nice for a good part of it but then Baby J. got really tired of sitting in his stroller so he put up such a fuss I had no choice but to carry him the rest of the way.

Which didn't sit well with Baby J.'s sibling-in-the-making who started kicking up a storm. The situation had me in tears from laughing...and caused me to get quite a few weird looks from strangers.

But in the end who really cares what strangers think? 

I prefer enjoying life and laughing than living a life filled with the worry of what everyone around thinks of me.

Sunday's Blue Sky And Great-Grandpa

Gorgeous. 

That's the only word I can think of to describe today. It was absolutely gorgeous outside. Such a bright blue sky, a few tiny little white clouds, the sun shining brightly, and a soft breeze.

Sundays are among my favorite days. I get to spend time with my Hubby with no stress. Each Sunday, Hubby takes Baby J. for 30-60 minutes after Baby J. wakes up so that I get to actually...GASP....sleep in!!! If you can call sleeping till 7:30 A.M. sleeping in. Then we start our regular routine. Baby J. and I get breakfast going or we kindly let Hubby know that a stop at the bakery is in order. Chocolate donuts have a way of calling my name even from a very long distance away.Afterwards we all start getting ready for church. Which we love and enjoy. 

Today was extra special. Baby J.'s great-grandfather was here visiting us and since he's a preacher we got the joy of hearing one amazing sermon. 
We loved seeing Baby J.'s excitement when he saw his grandpa up front getting ready to speak. And to be completely honest he wasn't the only one excited, Hubby and I were too.

After church we had lunch with some friends and oh the stories great-grandpa can tell. Some of them had us with our mouths hanging wide open in disbelief and others had us in stitches. 

Once we arrived home, great-grandpa went to rest for a little while; so Hubby, Baby J. and I all tossed ourselves on our comfy bed and rested as well. Hubby and I got to have some play time with little Baby J. and we had such fun playing tickle games. 

We got to talking and I asked Hubby " Could you imagine reaching great-grandpa's age and seeing your oldest child turn 51 years old? 51! That's past the half-way mark." We then turned to look at our babbling little boy and ended up sharing a laugh together. He's so small, 51 years old that's forever away. 

I'm so glad Baby J. has gotten to meet his great-grandpa. It warmed my heart to see him play with his great-grandpa, I loved every moment they had together. Baby J. and his great-grandpa did as well.

We're going to be really sad to have to say good-bye tomorrow when great-grandpa has to leave to go back home.