Saying goodbye to Roo...

UPDATE : Visit Nigel's story about Roo. For those of you who have ever been touched by a four legged "kid" its really touching and honest.
Saying Goodbye to Roo
The pictures alone are worth the visit, I love the one of him running by the water in MN as the stick picture. I only wish Nigel had included a video (if he had one) of Roo saying his name.. Roo was one smart cookie, and I'm not bragging only because I was his birth mommy.

Thank you so much to all the wonderful bloggers who really went all out to try to get the news out about Roo. News came tonight that Roo had been hit by a car on the same night he escaped. We will miss Roo, he was a wonderful friend to Nigel, not to mention the cutest puppy ever, we certainly will never forget him.

We love you Roo. You will be sorely missed.
8/23/04-4/25/08

Its mother's day.. so lets talk about things Mom may not be so good at.

What Moms Can't Do
by Douglas Wood

When we I was a kid at least, some of the things my mom did seemed a bit "silly". Now that I'm an adult and a mom myself I have to say I find myself doing all the same things if not more.

What Moms Can't Do is an adorably funny book about the things mom's do that sometimes preschoolers may find funny.

Mom's will love it as it pokes fun of the things that our kids do that may drive you a bit nuts, but you can't help to laugh at.. like a rambucious toddler jumping on the bed while your trying to make it.

Kids, especially in the 4-7 yr old age group, will love it as they have been trying to tell us all along that popsicles should be including in school lunch boxes.

My favorite line of the entire book :
"Sometimes moms can't hear themselves think (whatever that means)."
Well, maybe I could hear myself think if a little indian in the back seat isnt in the middle of his thirty minute rendition of a monkey's war cry, aka Connor really likes to hear himself talk.

And you better bet that I can't give hugs without stealing at least five kisses.

What Moms Can't Do is available on Amazon.

I wish .. I wish.. apon a star!!

Its so rare that I am so taken with a designer that I just can't stop thinking about their products, and how I need to have one of everything.

Baby Star has a drool worthy selection of baby bedding, blankets, clothing, towels, and more. The item that really first attracted me to their store was the tag blue baby bedding. Oh.. to be able to turn back time, I would have certainly bought the tag blue set as my nursery bedding. Now that Connor is past using a bumper and getting closer to being out of his crib it seems like a mute point now, but when baby #2 comes around you better bet I am putting that on my wish list.

Other than just the obvious gorgousness of Baby Star's prints, the quality of the fabric is just as fabulous. All of the products I have been able to see first hand so far have done nothing but fuil my obession with their products. Vibrant fabrics, high thread counts, and everything being decidantly soft to the touch its hard not to fall in love with Baby Star's modern style. If you are a recovering polka dot junkie like myself, you will find the tag, balloon, and connect the dot fabrics hard to resist.

I recieve the tag blue diamond blanket to review and Connor has been using it on a daily basis. I loved it so much I ended up buying the (now discontinued so if you want one order it do so ASAP) tag blue diamond throw blanket for him to use once he graduates into a toddler bed. The tag blue binding is strikingly gorgous but really the best part of the blanket is the silky softness of the main diamond patterned fabric. Its incredibly silky and and light enough for those summer nights. I have to admit the tag blue throw blanket will most likely go to bed with me until he outgrows his baby blanket. If your looking for a super soft heavier blanket sutiable for winter or colder cliamtes, I can personally tell you as I sleep with one myself, the poodle blanket is so decidently soft that you will want to steal it for yourself (I did .. lol).

If the droolalicious bedding isn't enough to get you going Baby Star also offers their signature fabrics on a brand new selection of baby clothing. The little dipper clothing line leaves me speachless, and I reallly would be thrilled to own the entire collection. I just couldnt resist and ended up making an order for Connor.

I could go on all day about Baby Star but I will leave the rest of their products for later. In the meantime head on over to Baby Star and check out the entire product line including their brand new hooded bath towels.

Baby Star products are sold directly through their webpage as well as through a variety of other retailers across the US. You can search for the closest retalier near you.

Dishwashing suddenly just got so much easier.

For years I have been using a glass "oil" dispenser (aka a cruet) to display and use my dish washing soap. Though the primary reason I like to use them is for the environmental standpoint, I buy large bulk containers of dish washing soap and refill vs buying smaller dispensing containers which we would have to throw away or recycle, there is a style issue as well.

My biggest complaint is in the past I have found they can be quiet messy.. and the rubber stoppers holding the spout on wear out fairly fast. Not to mention if you use a cruet with a metal spout they rust. So though we have had the same glass cruet for years Ive had to replace the metal spout frequently and trying to find just the right size sometimes is a headache. Not to mention this mess situation. Especially with dish soap unless your very careful you end up with soap running down the side of the container if your not lucky and metal spouts end up with a ton of build up at the end and need to be cleaned regularly.

When I saw this new cruet design from Chef's Planet I almost flipped. Not only does it solve the dripping problem with a great "catch" area at the top of the cruet but no more metal spouts. I thought to myself.. these guys must have been hearing me all along! Needless to say when my dish soap cruet arrived I was more than pleasently surprised. Its sized big enough that it holds a generous amount of dish soap but not so large that it takes up my entire sink. That nifty little catch area is awesome but honestly with the shape of the spout Ive yet to once have to even worry about catching drips as the spout, at least for us, has eliminated any drips and makes using the cruet a ton easier as the arch of the spout is a naturally great place to rest your fingers as you pour. And that glass spout design I thought would be an issue as I was sure the spout would slip out of the bottle when you turned it upside down... not at all.. seriously.. not even remotely an issue. I am 100% sold, and unless they stop making them if something happens to ours you better bet we are getting another one.

Chef's Planet also sent over some of their hand soap for us to try out seeing as they knew we have a dirty little boy on our hands. They actually asked me to try them out as baby wash as well as hand soap, and I did a bit of a double take. Our first attempt was at hand soap as I have incredibly dry skin and spend a good majority of my time avoiding hand soap as in most cases its pretty harsh and tends to dry me out even more. Ive used it on my hands, arms, and even my face and I am so happy to say that it left my skin feeling great and not at all dry, even after I used it multiple times in a day. Connor unfortunately inherited my skin which includes being dry and very sensitive to soaps. He actually breaks out in eczema patches if his skin drys out too much and it ends up being a constant battle, so I am always hesitant as to what I put on his skin. I did test the soap out on Connor as well as myself as a body wash and it worked fabulously and neither one of us had problems with being dry or itchy afterwards. Chef's Planet soaps are made of 100% natural ingredients with pure vegetable oils, essential oils and glycerin... so no yucky chemicals to worry about. And though the price seems a bit high compared to other baby washes, you will find that a tiny tiny bit goes a really long way as they foam a LOT coming out of the bottle and you end up using a quarter of what you would use in a non foaming cleanser. They have a great selection of scents to choose from and personally I really want to get my hands on that vanilla bean as well as the cinnamon and clove scents!

Chef's Planet offers a great selection of cooking supplies as well.. so go on over and check them out!

Chef's Planet sent over two extra bottles of their soap to give away to two lucky readers. Use it as hand soap, body wash, baby wash, or whatever you wish..I promise you'll love it!

To enter :

• Leave a comment on this post. Check out Chef's Planet and check out all their great kitchen goodies. Come back here and tell us which is your favorite and why you like it!
  
• Make sure there is a way for me to contact you - if your email address is not on your profile or you are not a blogger you may leave it in your comment or email it to me directly (angelaandconnor at gmail dot com) We have had to disqualify a lot of potential winners as of late as many people do not have emails available in their profiles or leave anonymous posts without any way to contact you.
• Please US entries only.
• To get extra credit :
• For an extra entry :
• Bloggers - Blog about this contest and leave me the link on your comment, or add me to your sidebar and let me know its there.
• Non Bloggers (or bloggers) subscribe to my mailing list/RSS feed and earn another entry!
• One extra credit per person. Please post your extra credit in a separate post.
• This contest will end May 15th at midnight!

Super Rug.. seriously

Ever dream of having a rug that can withstand baby spit up, dog pee, finger paints.. whatever on earth your family can dream up (aka mess up!).

Flor makes quite possibly the most family friend carpeting and rugs a mom could ask for... If you have a stain that just wont come clean.. no matter what you throw at it, well never fear you can just replace that bit of carpet or rug. Seriously..

Call FLOR the "block" version of carpet, you just put these little carpet squares together in whatever pattern/shape/color combo you choose and you have not only a custom designed rug, but they will truely fit any room or design you can dream up. I was really concerned that once they were put down you would not be able to vacuum your rug as with seven dogs in the house and Connor, vacuuming is really a daily reality. To my pleasant surprise not only can you vacuum the tiles once they are down, if one gets soiled you can also pick it up and wash it (actually wash it!!) in the sink. Oh what I would give to have my bedrooms done in FLOR .. I can only imagine how awesome it must be to be able to just wash your carpet especially once you enter those potty training years (babies or dogs) and someone has an accident. Mind you FLOR recommends that you use clean them using cool water and a non solvent cleaner if necessary. I found just a nice rinse does the trick in most situations. Though I am not sure I would recommend tons of repeated washings for longevity's sake.. but a good rinse after an "uh oh" would certainly be better than the alternative.

You know I think from the standpoint of in previous years I have moved quite a bit, the thing I regret most about not investing in a FLOR rug sooner was that all this time I didn't want to spend the money on a rug as I never knew what size I might need at the next "place". Well with FLOR you can just put as many or a little together that you need and size is never an issue.

All FLOR carpet tiles are made with some recycled fibers as well as are recyclable themselves.. so once your totally done with your FLOR no need to send it to the landfill. Just call FLOR and they will provide you a location that accepts them for recycling. Check out what FLOR is doing to go green.

FLOR has so many color options and patterns to choose from.. its a bit dizzying.. With a tile calculator and design ideas available right on the FLOR website your bound to find something to tickle your fancy!

You can buy FLOR directly from their website as well as at a local retailer.

Uses way past nursing..

Blessed Nest sells the most divine nursing pillows you could ever imagine...

When Connor was breastfeeding, I used one of those highly marketed half donut shaped pillows which we honestly loved (so much so I had three, two of which were of diffrent brands, but needless to say we never left home without SOMETHING).

My biggest complaint about the super puffy stuffed pillows is the fact that they are a bit hard to manage unless your sitting strait upright in a chair. This is great in comparison to using just a plain pillow or nothing, but they leave you hanging when it comes to nursing laying down or if you want to get comfortable in another position.

The Blessed Nest nesting pillow on the other hand will form to you, no matter what position you choose. The inside is stuffed with buckweat which gives the pillow weight and it also allows the pillow to bend and curve to whatever position you've chosen. This picture shows a football type nursing position, one I found VERY difficult to achieve with those traditional pillows and a really great position to use if your nursing a very tall baby, twins, or especially helpful if you've had a c section and your avoiding laying the baby across your stomach. I used a football hold often the first few weeks with Connor and I ended up making a makeshift ramp with pillows, but the Blessed Nest nesting pillow would have made it SO easy. I am actually jealous looking at that picture as it seems so natural for her and not at all awkward like I found it to be at times with my pillow fort.

Honestly though well past breastfeeding is when the Blessed Nest nesting pillow really shows its true value. When all your other nursing pillows have made the way to the attic, that Blessed Nest will still be hanging out in the living room (or in your bedroom in my case) still proving its worth. I LOVE to use mine to watch DVD's in bed. I in the past would end up propping myself up on pillows while I laid on my stomach at the end of the bed to watch movies and always without fail my arms would fall asleep after a few minutes, so I would end up adjusting my pillow fort again over and over trying to get comfortable. Needless to say the first day my Blessed Nest showed up I tried it out.. and not only was it super supportive (no pillow fort needed) my arms were happy and I didn't end up driving anyone in the room with me crazy, as I'm no longer constantly fiddling with pillows... and If I end up falling asleep during the movie I don't end up feeling like someone kicked me in the head from having my neck cranked up on all those pillows. I think I actually sleep better on the Blessed Nest nesting pillow than I do on my regular pillow at times.

Connor appreciates my Blessed Nest nesting pillow as well. We take naps on the floor at times and it makes a great long pillow we can both rest our heads on. His favorite way to use it though is actually as a little baby sofa of sorts. If I leave the pillow on the floor of his room he will usually drag some toys over and sit on the Blessed Nest nesting pillow while he plays. It apparently makes a super good ramp for crawling as well as he spends a lot of time doing that.

Ive heard the nesting pillow makes a great doggie bed as well... sorry dogs, I'm not giving it up!!

Blessed Nest's web page is actually undergoing some difficulty at the moment, must be Gremlins in their web server.. but no fear. You can purchase your Blessed Nest nesting pillow through email or on one of the many online retailers and local ones, that sell them! They are offering 10% off to all email orders right now while the web page is down. Use code : OUCH

Blessed Nest is also giving away a Nest Egg pillow and a mommy gift pack to one lucky winner right now on their blog. Sign up to win on their blog!

Book Tour : The Warriors by Mark Andrew Olsen

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
The Warriors
(Bethany House April 1, 2008)
by
Mark Andrew Olsen

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
MARK ANDREW OLSEN whose novel The Assignment was a Christy Award finalist, also collaborated on bestsellers Hadassah (now the major motion picture: One Night With the King), The Hadassah Covenant, and Rescued. His last novel was the supernatural thriller The Watchers.

The son of missionaries to France, Mark is a Professional Writing graduate of Baylor University. He and his wife, Connie, live in Colorado Springs with their three children.



ABOUT THE BOOK
A failed recon mission deep in the tunnels of Afghanistan has provoked a demonic onslaught that had been brewing for centuries. The mission's sole survivor is reformed black ops assassin Dylan Hatfield, and he once again teams up with Abby Sherman, now at the helm of the Watchers, an ancient spiritual force. Uncovering and preventing a secret wave of death whispered across cyberspace and threatening to be unleash against civilization will require another level of spiritual power and expertise--the Warriors.

Journeying across the Alps of Europe through the multilayered history of warfare in the unseen world, Dylan and Abby uncover an age-old stone engraving that rouses the church's Warriors to action, placing them dead center in one of the fiercest spiritual battles of their time!

And once again they are reminded: This is all part of a vast and perpetual war, a war beyond all human conflicts, one that has engulfed heaven and earth since before the dawn of history....

Abby Sherman is headed back to Israel, where a Watcher, the Sentinel of Jerusalem, lies dying. In her last breaths the old woman tells Abby of an ancient document prophesying humanity's full-scale entry into the ongoing conflict between armies of heaven and fallen angels.

Dylan Hatfield has decided to answer a summons from his old boss and join a secret operation, its mission to reconnoiter the Afghani tunnel complex from which Osama bin Laden escaped in 2001. What he discovers sears his very soul and likely will end his life.

Abby learns of the peril facing Dylan, and she sends out a call for intercession on his behalf. Her frantic email message sets in motion a series of harrowing events, propelling the two on a new mission and quest--one where the stakes are the lives of millions!

The Warriors is packed with high-octane action, featuring exotic international locales, with characters in a clash against spiritual "principalities and powers" with eternal consequences, The Warriors is a story that will enthrall, enlighten, and engage its readers.

If that piques your interest, you can read the first chapter HERE

"Olsen, one of the better writers in this subgenre, delivers powerful, action-packed plots that delve into mystical paranormal worlds."
~Library Journal, Feb. 2008

"Olsen delivers an entertaining thriller likely to be enjoyed especially by fans of the spiritual warfare genre."
~PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

I can't even tell you how much this series has affected our life.

I can't tell you how many times we have watched the first DVD in the series of Baby Signing Time. So many times at this point I see it in my sleep... but you know the fact that if I even get the box out of the entertainment center Connor starts to bop and dance is really a testament to how much he loves it.

Connor is still not really talking at 12m... He says Dada, Baba, Doggie, and the occasional other word but no Mama nor is he always consistent with using his words. He does understand a wide range of words, requests, and of course signs. I catch myself sometimes using the signs we have learned in the first video in public when someone is talking to Connor, like I need to translate to him (not that he can't hear or perfectly understand spoken words) but its becoming second nature.

I am so excited with the addition of these books we can not only expand our signing vocabulary but share it more easily with others. Our biggest challenge has been to get Connor's other caretakers on board with using signs... its not that they do not want to help its the fact that not everyone who cares for Connor has time to sit down and watch the DVD as many times as we have. The books are an easy and simple way for Connor to share his Signing Time with family and friends as well as enjoy Signing Time basically anywhere. The board books really serve several purposes, they are fun to look at with each page being brightly colored with a combination of illustrations and photos, each page has its own sign with an example and a short easy to understand direction on how to make the sign, and each page is labeled so you can work on your reading skills at the same time.

Along with great board books Signing Time offers a companion flash card set which teaches the basic words and signs, letters, and numbers. Regardless if your truely serious about learning to sign the flash cards are a great tool. Each set comes on its own plastic D Ring so you can easily attach them to the side of your stroller or diaper bag, and let me tell you they are a GREAT distraction tool (thats actually educational) if your stuck waiting in a doctor's office.

I personally cannot wait to expand our video collection with Signing Time. Id really love to see Baby Signing Time Volume 2, and Volume 3 of the first series : Everyday Signs!

Signing Time sent us a set of flash card to give away to one lucky reader! One lucky reader will get to start their signing adventure with sets 1-3. Thats a $32.00 value!

To enter :

• Leave a comment on this post. Check out Signing Time and let us know which of their many signing products do you think would be most useful to you and why!
  
• Make sure there is a way for me to contact you - if your email address is not on your profile or you are not a blogger you may leave it in your comment or email it to me directly (angelaandconnor at gmail dot com) We have had to disqualify a lot of potential winners as of late as many people do not have emails available in their profiles or leave anonymous posts without any way to contact you.
• Please US entries only.
• To get extra credit :
• For an extra entry :
• Bloggers - Blog about this contest and leave me the link on your comment, or add me to your sidebar and let me know its there.
• Non Bloggers (or bloggers) subscribe to my mailing list/RSS feed and earn another entry!
• One extra credit per person. Please post your extra credit in a separate post.
• This contest will end May 14th at midnight!

An update

Its been a crazy week.. between learning Roo was not returning home with Nigel, to the constant dread of doom of finals lurking over my head, to a dog flying in from Chicago, to finally the birth of our newest house mates, needless to say I'm pooped. For those of you who love Prize-A-Tron don't worry I have not forgotten you my eyes are burning from being exhausted and I promise I will get back on track no later than Thursday evening.

For those of you that were wondering about our newest edition(s). Ellie (one of our chihuahuas) delivered two beautiful little girls yesterday evening. Mom and babies are doing wonderfully but I'm a bit worst for wear. I stayed up almost all night on Sunday night as she was showing signs of labor and seeing as this was her first litter and she is an awfully small Chi, I was concerned we may be making a trip to the vet for an emergency c section (not uncommon in this breed). Well come Monday late afternoon between two finals I rushed home to see if we had a puppy yet, and no.. nothing but she seemed a bit distressed to me so I rushed her into a vet here in town to watch over her (or perform the dreaded c section if need be) and was sure by the time I finished class at 5:30 we would be certain to have a puppy... nope.. nothing.. so the vet sent her home as she was laboring.. but slowly.. and he felt she was sure to have them naturally (I honestly was not so sure) and low and behold we started hearing yelps as we sat down to dinner. By the time I had the dishes cleaned up I was in the frenzy of puppy birthing as a beautiful little black and tan girl made her presence, though she gave us a scare with some fluid, she came around pretty fast though left me a bit breathless from the scramble. And to my surprise I felt Ellie's tummy and there was another puppy in the birth canal!! (NO WAY!!) Its a rare treat these days for my girls to give me two puppies as they are a bit on the smaller side and leave it to the littlest girl we have to deliver the biggest litter. Both are tri colored blacks and though a tad bit small, are healthy, active, and talkative. Though they are not out of the woods yet, things are looking positive.

Indy also returned (our champion minpin) from Chicago with a repeat breeding to Ch Valdon's Tight Squeeze. Her last litter produced easily the best dog of my breeding/showing career Ch Valdon's See You at the Top... so I am waiting on pins and needles to see if she is pregnant and if so what this litter will bring. Indy has been sleeping a lot and a bit picky about her food so I'm hoping that all points to the fact that she could be carrying extra baggage.

Otherwise finals for this semester are over on Thursday (thank goodness) and I can get busy about enjoying a few weeks off before the Summer session starts shortly.

We will be running a summer feature next week including a new summertime toy/product every day. It should be a blast and it will be a great way for us to start Connor off on what should be a great summer.

Birthday Monsters & Sushi Shirts!!

You know Connor up till now has pretty much had the exact opposite taste as I do when it comes to food. If I hate it.. he loves it... I really hope this is not a sign of things to come, especially in those teenage years.

Speckled Sunshine offers the CUTEST hand painted tshirts for babies and toddlers. I have to admit this Sushi shirt is by far my favorite, and you know I really don't enjoy Sushi when it comes to eating it, so I am positive Connor will love it. I really love the shirt though!

Sadly the cute kid and neato sushi pants are not included. The Sushi tshirt is available in a lap tee as well as a onesie.

If you'd like a good laugh check out the stud muffin tshirt, while your over there as well.

Have a birthday coming up? These birthday monsters are really friendly, and its a great way to show off that new number. Connor can't quite tell people how old he is yet.. but his monster can!

Got something custom you want? Speckled Sunshine would love to make you the custom shirt of your dreams. A custom design would be a great idea for a birthday party or special event!

Speckled Sunshine is offering a a hand painted t-shirt to one lucky reader!

To enter :

• Leave a comment on this post. Check out Speckled Sunshine and let us know which design is your favorite, If you'd love to have a custom t-shirt tell us what that might be!
  
• No "i want to win" stuff without a little effort (and I do mean little!)
• Make sure there is a way for me to contact you - if your email address is not on your profile or you are not a blogger you may leave it in your comment or email it to me directly (angelaandconnor at gmail dot com) We have had to disqualify a lot of potential winners as of late as many people do not have emails available in their profiles or leave anonymous posts without any way to contact you.
• Please US entries only.
• To get extra credit :
• For an extra entry :
• Bloggers - Blog about this contest and leave me the link on your comment, or add me to your sidebar and let me know its there.
• Non Bloggers (or bloggers) subscribe to my mailing list/RSS feed and earn another entry!
• One extra credit per person. Please post your extra credit in a separate post.
• This contest will end May 12th at midnight!

Vrrrooom Vrrooom!

You know I was/am a huge block fan.. as is Connor but I have never up till now experienced K'NEX. Honestly I thought they looked "hard" and I'd end up getting frustrated with them or they would make me look stupid. (LOL) So when I got the opportunity to review a set of K'NEX I figured it was now or never.

You know, they are not as hard as it seems... I would put them in the area of challenging for a young child but certainly not frustrating or impossible. K'NEX will certainly keep you a bit more occupied than other interconnecting blocks as the motorized aspect of building with them is a bit more time consuming.

The K'NEX dueling racers were actually really simple to get together, as well as racing a car you built yourself brings a whole new aspect to the fun and competition level to the actual racing of the cars. I have to say its a ton more fun than grabbing two plastic or metal toy cars and pushing them around the house.

Once you race your cars you can mix it up a bit and use the alternative building instructions and see if that makes any difference in how fast your car goes! Just be warned these cars are motorized so you may find yourself running down the street after them, I'm sure every kid can appreciate that one.

The K'NEX Dueling Racers are available on Amazon as well as in the K'NEX Store.

An ode to Roo....

I never knew something so simple would become so valuable.

While we are on the subject of babywearing I thought this would be the perfect time to bring this up.

I stopped breastfeeding sooner than I would have liked. I had hoped to make it to at least a year if not beyond but we ended up winding down slowly after Connor turned six months as he just became so active and so wiggly it got harder and harder to manage him. It was almost impossible to keep his attention and though he did a great job nursing at night during the day it was almost torture to get him to nurse longer than a few minutes at a time before he was halfway crawling all over me and grabbing everything in range.

I don't know how many times I thought to myself.. there has to be a way to distract this kid long enough he can eat peacefully without driving me insane, or injuring one of us in the process. If I had only been told about these necklaces sooner, we might have met our goal or at least stayed feeding longer than we did.

Tickled Pink Designs make the most fabulous nursing necklaces that not only solve that problem of how to keep your child preoccupied while nursing, its also a great keepsake to remember that time you shared together and a fun learning tool. Its a great way to keep those little hands busy without subjecting yourself to constant pinching, pulling, and hair twirling which many breast fed babies do at some point in the nursing experience. Connor has the Baby Boy High Contrast Necklace and we love to take it with us on trips outside the house. Even now that we are well past breastfeeding when I need a quick distraction I will get it out and we talk about all the diffrent colors, textures, shapes, and of course his name on the necklace. Connor is just fascinated by it and its the perfect solution to the "screaming baby in the middle dinner syndrome".

Speaking of learning necklaces, the Extrasensory Exploration Nursing Necklace would be a perfect tool for not only those breast feeders who have to be playing with something while they eat, but that sliding ring on the necklace would be a great distraction for a toddler.

With that said, the Nursing Necklace is not designed to be an infant toy, and is not suitable for teething, toddlers should be supervised when playing with a Nursing Necklace as though they are designed to withstand tugging and pulling care should be taken so that your little one does not accidentally swallow a bead.

While your over at Tickled Pink Designs check out their mom jewelry too as mother's day is fast approaching and they have some great selections!

I've been looking for something just like this!!!

Is that not just the prettiest Mei Tai you have ever seen? I donno, something about the simple design and those white straps is just stunning. The Picara Baby Mei Tai comes in several color options, but hands down this is my favorite.

Ever since the first time I put one on, Ive been a huge fan of Mei Tai Carriers. There is nothing better for carrying an older baby on your back, and they are a thousand times more comfortable than those mass marketed backpack baby carriers that you see at major stores.

My only complaint to date has been I've never really enjoyed using a Mei Tai in a front hold or with a young baby. Its not that they are not superb its simply a matter of my height verses the carrier. Most Mei Tais have a large padded neck piece, which is great but if your super short like me, it actually becomes a bit of a hindrance when using the carrier in a front position as it interferes with my field of vision and mobility.

With that said the Picara Baby Mei Tai is really unusual in the fact that instead of using padded more rigid areas on the carrier it uses a really fluid one piece design that molds around your baby or toddler making it unnecessary to use extra padding to keep the carrier's shape. That one piece construction makes the carrier one of the most comfortable Mei Tais I have ever worn as it allows the carrier to fit a bit snugger as well as eliminating any extra bulk which in especially a front hold gives a lot more movement without sacrificing function. The back on the Picara Baby Mei Tai comes up high enough that is properly supportive as well on younger babies. For those of you who relish style as much as function, the clean lines give this carrier the most modern look of all the Mei Tai's I have reviewed to date.

If your looking for a Mei Tai especially for a younger baby or to be used a lot as a front carrier I would HIGHLY recommend the Picara Baby Mei Tai. It also tested very well as a back carrier though for super long trips I may still be tempted to use a Mei Tai with a padded neck area encase of sudden naps, but if comfort is a huge priority this one would rank easily in my top 5 most comfortable as well as on my top 5 prettiest carrier list.

Picara Baby also offers a great line of ring slings and wraps.
To get 15% off your next order use this LINK to order.

Picara Baby has donated a carrier of your choice from their collection (minus the organics) to one lucky reader!!

To enter :

• Leave a comment on this post. Check out Picara Baby and let us know which carrier/color is your favorite, as well as what type of carrier is your favorite if you have a preference.
  
• No "i want to win" stuff without a little effort (and I do mean little!)
• Make sure there is a way for me to contact you - if your email address is not on your profile or you are not a blogger you may leave it in your comment or email it to me directly (angelaandconnor at gmail dot com) We have had to disqualify a lot of potential winners as of late as many people do not have emails available in their profiles or leave anonymous posts without any way to contact you.
• Please US entries only.
• To get extra credit :
• For an extra entry :
• Bloggers - Blog about this contest and leave me the link on your comment, or add me to your sidebar and let me know its there.
• Non Bloggers (or bloggers) subscribe to my mailing list/RSS feed and earn another entry!
• One extra credit per person. Please post your extra credit in a separate post.
• This contest will end May 10th at midnight!

Got some extra food in your pantry?

On May 10th you can leave non perishable food out by your mail box for your mailman to pick up. I know I will be leaving all that baby food Connor didn't eat and some misc can foods in our pantry that I bought too much of.

To participate in the Stampout Hunger Campain :

• Leave a sturdy bag containing non-perishable foods next to your mailbox before the mail arrives on May 10th.
• Sit back as the letter carrier collects your donations, and donates from homes across the country.
• Pat yourself on the back for benefiting American's Second Harvest food banks and the other hunger relief organizations in 10,000 local communities.

Pretty neato eh?

Visit Stamp Out Hunger to learn more!