Five for You and Five for Me

Here are five things I'm currently loving: 

1) My fruit infusion water pitcher. It is such a great way to get you drink more water! You put fruit in the little tube and then you just refill the water. We've tried doing lemons, limes, oranges and cucumber and mint. I have really started drinking more water because of this pitcher.

2) New flash deal sites that are popping up! The latest I have found are Bitsy Bug and Little Bird for NYC and Atlanta Moms. I just love all the great deals I've been getting!

3) My Pottery Barn tissue cover. I gave these as gifts this past Christmas and everyone just loves them. I bought two for myself and they seriously have made me smile every time I've needed a tissue. They are GREAT gifts! Go get a few.

4) J's CARES harness has been getting some serious mileage. We just returned home from round one of our house search and I couldn't have done it without the harness. I highly recommend it for traveling with your toddler! I promise I'll do an updated travel post soon.

5) Running out of things to do with your little one? An old classmate of mine from Atlanta created this website for Moms. It is simply amazing, you must check it out!

Now Five Questions for YOU!

1) What is your favorite home or decorating magazine? I'm getting so excited about decorating our new home. I want to go ahead and start some inspiration files. I would love any tips you have!

2) One of the first purchases we'll have to make is mattresses. How exciting! We have our mattress, but J is still in his crib. We'll move him into a single bed and we want to upgrade our queen to a king. So we'll need 2 twin mattresses and a king and maybe another queen. What kind do you have? Any recommendations?

3) We're planning to go to Chicago in May. Do you have any recommendations on where to eat? We'll have J with us, so would love to know some family friendly sights to see. I've only been twice so I'm very excited. We are going for my SIL's graduation from seminary!

4) Atlanta friends, if you have recommendations on babysitters, house keepers, painters, inspectors, yard guys, etc, etc, etc. Send them my way! I'm starting my "can't live without them" file. magnoliasmarriage and manhattan at gmail dot com

5) Does anyone have any tips on saving money while renting a car? Our car rental bill was so high (as was our hotel bill). A simple house hunting trip costs as much as a nice vacation. Since we are going to need to go again, would love any tips you have to share!

2nd Baby Gift

A friend just emailed me and asked me if I had a great idea for a 2nd baby gift. This is the 2nd boy, so they are good on clothes and toys. Normally I would suggest something monogrammed for the 2nd child since they will get so many hand me downs, but this Mom owns a monogramming shop in the South. Hmmm. I am stumped. Any ideas? What do you give the 2nd baby? What's your favorite big brother/big sister gift too?

Thanks for your help!

Questions for you and Questions for me!

Over the past few weeks a few of you have emailed me or left me questions in the comments so I figured I would answer those here and also open the floor to any other questions you might have for me!

1) Where did you get Baby J's Easter basket?

I bought J's basket from this store: http://www.meandmommytobe.com/products/personalized-easter-baskets/.  We love the basket and got so many compliments on it.

Here's the post I did on it last year on sear: http://magnoliasmarriageandmanhattan.blogspot.com/2009/03/easter-basket-hunting-for-baby-j.html

I even have a pic of him IN it from last year! They grow up so fast. I hope they stay in business a long time so they can do my future kids baskets...in 10 years or so. =)

2) Where did you find all of your Red Wagon party decor? Especially the mini wagons? I bought the stuff from all over, but the mini wagons and a lot of the paper products came from my1stbirthday.com

Here are the mini wagons: http://www.1stbirthdayparty.com/radio-flyer-snack-dish.html

and here is kit you can buy: http://www.1stbirthdayparty.com/red-wagon-kit.html

3) Did you ever find a white sweater for Baby J?

I did! Thanks for all of your help. I bought mine from the Kangaroo Pouch in Atlanta. That is where I got J's Easter Outfit, so they sent me one too!

I also have a few questions for y'all!

1) Can anyone recommend a great pool float for 15 month old?


2)What sunscreen do you use on your little one?

3) Favorite mixed drink and favorite tropical drink? We leave for Mexico in a few days and I'm going to try them all! Ha, Ha!

4) What are you getting your Mom for mother's day?

Happy Friday!

Tuesday Tidbits

Yuck! A rainy day here in the city! J and I went to his gym class this afternoon. He did great holding on to the rings and it wore him out enough where he actually took TWO naps! I've had Baby J on a 2 nap a day schedule since he was very little (he sleeps 7pm-7am and then would nap at 9:30am and 2:30pm, each nap lasting 1-3 hours, but averaging about 1.5 hours each.) However, since he has been sick I think he is trying to drop a nap. He is 14 months and I'm not ready! Any tips and/or suggestions to make it through this transition period are much appreciated. I am so used to being able to schedule my day and now it is just a mess because he is so off schedule! What's a type A Mom to do?

This past weekend we had lots of city adventures. On Saturday, we went to the Peanut Butter & Co. It's been on my list of restaurant in the city to try (there are so many of them)! Check out the pic of their menu. It is a tiny little restaurant, but we were able to grab a seat and they even had a highchair for the little one. I had the Elvis (peanut butter, honey and banana grilled) and A had the Peanut Butter BLT! Crazy huh? Baby J was recently cleared by his doc to have peanut butter, so he had the lunchbox special (a classic pbj). He LOVED it! It was so much fun. If you are a peanut butter lover, I highly recommend checking this spot out! You can even buy their peanut butter on their website, or here, here, here, here or here. They even a cookbook! We followed our lunch up with a walk in Soho and met a good friend from home for drinks. Then we headed over to Cozy's Kids for a much needed haircut for the little guy. He was getting a little bit of a mullet. =)

On Sunday we decided to do another "New York" thing. We took the subway downtown and walked across the Brooklyn Bridge. I had done it once before, but the weather was perfect and J and A were first timers. We headed down under the bridge to grab a famous Grimaldi's pizza. It was quite delicious, but my favorite pizza in the city is still Lombardi's, followed closely by Totonno's and my local spot Roma. Such a fun weekend with my boys!

I went ahead and ordered J a few things for his Easter basket. I bought him this Chirpy Chick Roger Priddy book to add to his funny faces collection, this bunny finger puppet book , these quacky cups for the bath (he loves to stack right now), and this cute little egg set. What are you putting in your little ones Easter basket?

Question for y'all. So J is 24 lbs and 9 ounces and is 14 months old. He can wear some 12 month clothing, but mostly we are wearing 18 month clothing, even though they are a little long. I'm guessing this spring and summer he'll be in 18 month for most of the time. He's been in 12 month since well before Christmas and he really hasn't grown much since he started walking. What size would you guess he'll be in for fall clothes? After 18 is 24, but when will he hit that? That's a HUGE jump! I've found a few cute options, but I'm scared to buy. Also, can someone please explain the difference btwn 24 months, 1T, 2T, 3T. I think I get it, but really I need some good explanations as to when my child will be wearing each size. =)

A friend sent me this article about being Southern in the City, if you are from the South and live here...you have to read it!

Have you entered my stationery giveaway? Click here to learn more about Take Note! Designs and The Paper Cafe and to enter the giveaway. For those of you that have already entered, The Paper Cafe is also offering MMM readers a 15% off discount on your order at the end of the giveaway, stay tuned to find out the special code. Although, you may want to wait until Friday to see if you are the lucky winner of a $50.00 gift certificate for Take Note! Designs products from The Paper Cafe. Click here to enter now, be sure to follow the rules!

Here are a few more of my favorites:

Sick Baby, New Baby Ideas and Easter Baskets

We've had a rough two weeks! Thursday, we went to the peditirican for the THIRD time in less than 2 weeks. J had a double ear infection, then one ear cleared up, then both got infected again. We're on our second dose of antibiotics and our third pack of boogie wipes, but today he is running a fever again. We've been up with sweet baby boy multiple times each night. My poor baby! The doc thinks this dose will do it and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we don't end up with tubes (although will certainly go that route if that is what the doc reccomends.) He's sleeping now and I need to go to bed so I can catch up on some sleep. Has anyone else had experience with multiple ear infections like this?

One of my best friends just had a baby. I bought her daughter a couple of cute big sister books and one of Baby J's favorites too. Books are a great gift for a toddler big sis! Her baby boy received a monogrammed A. Tierney infant sunhat. I LOVE these hats (I also gave 2 other hats to two other friends of new baby boys)! Baby J has had one in every size since he was born. He just got his 18 month size...the last size before we move up to the toddler hat.

Another thing that my college friends and I have been doing for our new Mommy friends is pooling together our funds to buy gift certificates for food. Our group of KD pledge sisters are now spread out all over the country, so we are unable to just stop by and bring a casserole to help out those first few weeks. The way we did it was that our sweet friends either sent me a check or money via paypal (in whatever amount they could afford-anywhere from $15-$50) and I went online and bought gift certificates from their favorite restaurants and had them mailed directly to the New Mommy. Our most recent new Mommy of 2 received gift certificates from Whole Foods, Zea, Papa Johns, Carrabbas, and PF Changs. She sent me an email and said it is like Christmas everyday! =)New Mommies need their friends more than ever and the gift certifcates are an easy and thoughtful way to be there for your friends even though there are miles between you.

My Mom sent this book and this book for Baby J as an early Easter gift. He loves them both! I've got to start thinking of cute little things to put in his Easter Basket. Any ideas for toddler Easter basket goodies? Don't have your baby's first Easter basket yet? Here's my post I did last year on the subject. I bought this one last year for Baby J and it is ADORABLE!

We are about to book our trip away. It looks like we are going to go to Mexico and we will leave Baby J with my parents. We had wanted to go to a smaller island, but due to the fact that flights are limited (and longer), we decided we needed to be somewhere with multiple daily flights to maximize our time away and to be able to get back in case of an emergency. This will be the first time I've left Baby J for more than 1 night. =(

Stay tuned for a fun giveaway that starts tomorrow! I have one scheduled for the next couple of weeks, so try out your luck! Leave a comment if you have won one of my giveaways before and let everyone know what you won to inspire them to try to win this time!

Have you picked what you want from my Shrimp and Grits online trunk show yet? Here are a few more cute choices to entice you: Want to order one? See my post below for details or just email me at magnoliasmarriageandmanhattan@gmail.com.

Here are a few more pictures of the cute items you can buy!

Splat Mats?

Does anyone have a good splat mat they can recommend? I have a reader that is looking for one. I found a few on amazon and etsy, does anyone own any of these?

This one from Modern June via etsy?

This one from Chalkydoodles via etsy?

My Little Love Bug via etsy

Splat Mats via Amazon

Little White Sweaters

Why is is so hard to find a little boys plain white cardigan sweater? Do any of y'all have any websites or stores you have bought one from? J just grew out of his and needs a new one to go with his dress clothes. We bought the other one in Memphis and they don't have an online option. Help!

I've looked everywhere! I'm also looking for plain white collared shirts (I like the onesie types best) to go under Jon Jons and longalls in the next size up. I normally get the baileys boys or kissy kissy ones, but can't find them anywhere. I need a Southern boys basics store in NYC! Thanks for your help!

Edit: Forgot to mention I only want plain white (a lighter material that is for very dressy outfits.) I don't want any kind of design and I'm not a fan of v-necks. I also need an 18 month sweater. =) Hello....PICKY MAMA RIGHT HERE! =)

Baby Products I Could Not Have Lived Without This Past Year

This post has been a long time coming. So many of you have asked my favorites in a lot of these categories, so here are my opinions! Feel free to leave your own. Or, if there is something that you couldn't have lived without be sure to let me know so I can try it!

Equipment:

1) Bugaboo Stroller for the navigating the city streets

2) Maclaren Quest Stroller for traveling and trips around town that require a taxi

3) Jumperoo

4) Swing

5) Baby Bjorn

6) Bumbo

7)  Playmat

 8) Alphabet Playmat

 

Nursery:

1) Pottery Barn Harper Crib

(I found mine at the Pottery Barn outlet!)

2) Beautiful Crib Bedding and Accessories from Monarch Creations

(see right sidebar for coupon code)

3) Pottery Barn Rocker Dream Swivel Glider

(We found ours at the Potter Barn outlet!)

4) Colgate Classica I Foam Crib Mattress

5) Waterproof Lap/Crib Pads

(great for changing table so you don't have to change your cover every time and also good in basinette/crib...you can't have enough of these!)

6) Rumble Tuff Changing Pad'& Rumble Tuff Changing Pad (4 sided)

7) Pottery Barn Canvas Toy Storage Bags

(I bought mine on Craig's List brand new!)

8) Storage Baskets for baby

Feeding:

1) Born Free Bottles (worked the best for my reflux child when I quit nursing)

2) Nuby Sippy Cups (we like the straw cups the best)

3) Munchkin Spoons

4) Bumkin Bibs

5) Earth's Best Soups

6) Baby Mum Mums

7) Gerber Organic Apple/Strawberry

8) Yogurt Melts

9) Green Puffs

10) YoBaby 

Bath Time:

1) Fisher Price Whale Tub

2) Pottery Barn Towel for infants

(this was one of my favorite when Baby J was little)

3) Mullins Square Towel for bigger baby and toddler (they have two sizes and the larger size is perfect for our 1 year old)

4) Skip Hop Whale Spout Cover

(great for the bathtub when they start moving around!)

5) Bath Organizer

6) Squirt Toys

7) Johnson and Johnson Moisture Care Wash and All Over

8) Mustela for Cradle Cap, Mustela All Over, Mustela Relaxing Bath

9) Stool for Mama and Baby

(I use it when I give J a bath every night!)

Diaper Bag:

1) The Pottery Barn Ultimate Diaper Bag (it is AWESOME!)

2) Monogrammed Wipe Holder

3) Diaper Holder

(don't forget to use the code MMMBLOG!)

4) Snack Cup

5) Formula Holder 

6) Pacifier Holder

7) Pampers Swaddlers until they crawl

8) Huggies Little Movers from crawling to walking

9) Pampers Sensitive Wipes

Toys:

1)Sophie

2) Winkle

3) Crazy Eye Panda Bear

4) Lovie

5) Step 2 Car

6) Music Table

7) Blocks

8) Melissa and Doug Puzzles

9) Drum Set

10) Radio Flyer Wagon

 

Favorite Baby Clothes Brands:

1) Kissy Kissy

2) Magnolia Baby
3) Bailey Boys
4) Funtasia Too
5) Carriage Boutiques

6) Anavini

7) Kellys Kids
8) Amanda Remembered
9) Little English
10) Castles and Crowns

11) Shrimp and Grits

12) Claire and Charlie

And so many more...

Favorite Websites:

1) Julianne Originals

(my favorite for monogrammed bibs, football bibs and monogrammed gowns)

2) A. Tierney

(the BEST monogrammed burp cloths and monogrammed sun hats)

3) Palmetto Princess and PST Designs

(great custom longalls, I've ordered from both)

 

4) Diapers.com

(Don't forget to enter code MMM blog for $10.00 off your first order)

5) Amazon

(We bought the amazon prime membership and I LOVE it!)

6) Alice.com

(Get $10.00 off your first order of $50.00)

7) Ebay 

8) Etsy 

9) Best Dressed Child 

Books:

1) Pat the Bunny

2) 123 NYC Counting Book

3) Halloween Jack ( or any of the other Roger Priddy funny face books)

4) That's Not My Dinosaur

5) Toes, Ears and Nose

6) The Very Hungry Caterpillar

7) Touch and Feel Animal Books

8) Usborne Truck Book

9) Barnyard Dance (or any Susan Boyton book)

10) Goodnight Moon and Goodnight New York City

11) Peek-a-Moo

Travel:

1) Travel Sleep Sheep

2) Maclaren Quest

3)  Foogo Thermos for milk on the plane or on the go (it keeps 12 ounces cold for up to 12 hours!)

4) Britax Roundabout 50 (The best option for our family since we don't have a car in the city and we only rent. We wanted it to be on the smaller side, but the 50 makes it go up to 50 pounds! It is GREAT!)

5) Carseat travel bag (fits a Britax)