Non-Toy Toddler Gift

LW happens to have a lot of friends, and they all happen to have birthdays around the same time. Since I am no longer in a salaried position, I needed to get very creative with the gifts we gave this year. I couldn't just go on Amazon and order whatever looked cute for $30 or even fill a basket of snacks from World Market (another favorite gift option of mine).

I found this article on Pinterest of 18 Non-Toy Gifts for Toddlers and knew I needed to create something from it as our gift to all of these parties. Because really, what toddler *needs* another toy??

I opted for something somewhat practical and educational – a bird feeder!

I like to give "packaged" gifts, so I also bought some bird seed in bulk: 

And each child got a book about birds. Every book was unique because I scored them at Half Price Books – my favorite book store. 

To me, for toddlers and any age, it isn't about what is spent on the gift monetarily but the thought that counts. Maybe I'm tooting my own horn but I feel like this is a really thoughtful gift and I did it for a lot of kids on a very tight budget! 

I'm so proud of how they turned out! 

Of course each gift needed its own hand made, coordinating card! I used scraps for the cards (as I always do) so nothing was spent on them. 

For the bird seed in each gift, I used mason jars I had on hand (because everything looks cuter in a mason jar!) and decorated them with scrap fabric, tags and twine. Again, all things I already had in my craft supplies. 

I bought bags and tissue from Five Below in really fun, bright colors so each gift would be wrapped in an exciting way. 

 Three down, more to go!

The feeders were on sale when I initially placed my order so each toddler gift was less than $15 total - including wrapping materials, feeder, book and bird seed. Hopefully this post doesn't make me sound too cheap...just creative :) 

Each toddler I've given the feeders to so far seems really thrilled with the gift (at least their parents do!). It's something that doesn't clutter their house, since it hangs on the outside of the window, the bird seed all goes into the feeder so in the end they can recycle the card, save the jar for something and save the bag/tissue for another gift!

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Pregnancy: 31 Week Update

How far along? 31 Weeks

Size of Baby:  Coconut (3.5lb!!!)

Weight Gain: We all know the answer to that from last week....so let's not talk about it again until next week, shall we? 

Nursery: It is coming together!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so excited. 

This week I ordered the monitor as our item of the week. Only a few things left on the list! 

I did add a white noise machine to the list, however. After some research, I picked this one: 

The humidifier I picked that we've ended up using in LW's room bc his kicked the bucket isn't as noisy as our previous humidifier. I really like it (once I painted over the nightlight which was actually like EXTREMELY BRIGHT HEADLIGHT) because it has great output, is small and lasts all night long on one tank, but I specifically remember needing white noise for LW in his newborn days, and really until recently we had the really noisy humidifier in his room that buffered out sounds. This is the humidifier we have now: 

So since the new humidifier is so quiet, I decided a white noise machine is a good thing to have. For LW we used an old iPhone in a docking station with a free white noise app. Problem with that was the home button on that iPhone didn't work consistently, and if I forgot (in my sleep-deprived state) and hit "play" on the docking station, Carrie Underwood would start BLASTING through the speakers at the volume we had been playing soothing waves sounds previously. 

That made for plenty of panicked mommy moments, LW jumping awake, and a lot of frustration. So, I'm not doing that again. $42 will be well-spent on that little noise maker machine. It's gotten great reviews. 

Movement: This little dude is a WILD MAN. He's moving around so much lately! It's really fun. I feel like he's very long because I already always feel him very low in my pelvis while simultaneously feeling him up at my rib cage. I have a feeling my dreams of a baby under 8lb may just be that....dreams :)

Symptoms: Well, this is where it gets interesting. Thursday afternoon LW and I visited my dad in the hospital (he just had both knees replaced) and I got stuck in traffic on my way home. I had to use the bathroom REALLY BADLY by the time I finally arrived to my door and had been contracting from the need to use the bathroom (or so I thought). Turns out the contractions didn't stop once I "emptied my tank" and continued fairly aggressively for over an hour.

I contacted my midwife and made a plan on what to do if they continued but thankfully after a lot of water, sitting with my feet up and completely relaxing 100%, the contractions slowed and eventually stopped.

That said, we're considering Mo a bit of a flight risk so I'll be taking it easy more often than not the remaining 8 weeks....as much as I can possibly stand to do so.

Also, I have SO MANY BRAXTON HICKS lately! It's like my uterus doesn't realize it's done this before and thinks it needs to practice. Earth-to-uterus: YOU GOT THIS. CALM YO'SELF.

I've had a little heartburn this week, but nothing crazy (thankfully). My back hurts now and then. I'm tired. You know...third trimester woes.

Cravings: I think it's probably just residual from Easter, but CHOCOLATE THE MINUTE LW GOES TO BED. As much as possible, get it in my belly. Just thinking about it right now I think I need to bite the ears off of a bunny.

Looking forward to: Getting the final items done in the nursery. I have a craft list of things I want to do and between that, freelance work (blessed!), Jamberry, What I Feed My Kid, housework, LW, sewing ring slings, and oh, trying to "relax" I don't know how I'll do it all!!! One day at a time, I guess :)

Things I can't stop thinking about: Nothing, really. I'm just trying to take it one day at a time and get all of my tasks done on my various lists as I go. 

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Autism Awareness Month

UPDATE: Jamberry launched a BRAND NEW Autism Awareness wrap for 2015 TODAY!!! It's GORGEOUS! 

Autism Awareness: Jamberry donates $2.00 for every sheet of charity nail wraps purchased to the Autism Society of America. 

I'm excited to launch a new section in my Jamberry business - fundraisers!

This month I will have a party open all month in support of Autism Awareness. A portion of all party proceeds will go straight to the Autism Society of America.

Want free tax and shipping? I have selected seven adorable wraps that look gorgeous together and if you submit your order using this form I will cover your tax AND shipping, all month!

Do you have a charity or organization you'd like to raise money for? I would love to help you support that mission through Jamberry! Email me and we can make it happen.

Don't have a charity to support but want to earn free wraps? Every ten wraps sold in a party earns the hostess a FREE sheet, so let's talk if you'd like to start earning Pinterest-worthy nails for free!

These are a few of my favorite combos of my featured wraps for April:

All images sourced from Instagram using the official Jamberry hashtags (#autismawarenessjn, #prepschooljn, #puppylovejn, #sunnylotusjn)

What charity would you like to help support?

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Finished Project: Toddler Quiet Book

Remember that time I thought I could finish LW's quiet book for Christmas!? HAHAHHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHHAHAHA. That was good.

Well, now it's Easter and he IS getting the quiet book in his Easter basket. WAHOO!! A finished project. Want to see?

I made it page by page, rather than cutting everything at once then gluing everything, then sewing everything, etc. I like seeing progress and I tend to need instant-gratification when I am working on projects. Working on a page until I finished it in one sitting was both rewarding and efficient for me.

I did learn a few things as I went. The first half of the book took me about an hour per page. I was REALLY obsessed with every stitch and perfecting every cut. The second half of the book took about fifteen minutes per page because I either didn't sew it down at all (hot glue, people! MAGIC) or the pieces I needed to sew were minimal.

From sewing the first half of the book as much as I did, I gunked my sewing machine up pretty badly. The felt letters I used were adhesive backed, which I thought would help them stay extra firm on the book, but in actuality that adhesive screwed up the needles I was using. A little acetone took care of it, but still. Yuck.

Also, felt is a really inexpensive material and with sewing the less expensive the material, the more likely it is to "shed" into your machine.

So, needless to say after sewing this as much as I did my machine is due for a good cleaning.

Here is the cover:

I wanted lots of texture for him to touch and feel and wanted the letters to be big and bold. These are those adhesive letters I mentioned previously. Great for the book. Bad for the sewing machine.

The lion and mailbox spread took me the longest, but they were pages I was most passionate about. I really wanted a lion with a full, unique mane that LW could tousle his fingers through and a mailbox with a "Door" that really opened, plus a flag that really worked. Did them both! And the mailbox has a few surprises inside:

EEP! It's so cute. I used the special stitches on my machine to spell things on certain pages. You can't see in the image, but the lion page says "Lion Says Roar!" and one of the letters for the mailbox says "I love you!"

Then came the Tic-Tac-Toe page. This one took me a while too and was when I decided not to sew those little letters anymore. I stitched a quick little baggie to store the game pieces. These game pieces do not have anything to help adhere them to the felt - they are just sticking with felt on felt.

The caterpillar is a color-matching game. The goal is for LW to match the correct colored pieces to the stuck-on colors on the page. The game pieces have "hook" pieces of velcro on them, so if he pushes them down their little velcro teeth will catch.

This spread was faster than anticipated. The Peek-A-Boo page was just a few minutes to measure and cut the ribbons and fabric plus glue them down.

I worried the fish page would take a long time, but it didn't. The fish all have a tab of magnet on the backs of the pieces, so when he plays it for real it will be magnets facing out. The goal is for him to use the "bait" gold fish which also has a magnet on it, to pick up the other fish with the magnets. There is a little pocket labeled "Fish" to store the pieces in when not in use.

All of the pages are hot glued together and a little mish-moshed around the edges, but to me that just gives character and shows that it's homemade with love. Also, I'm lazy. Felt stretches and these pages were a far cry from their original sizes when I was done with them....so the answer was trim them all down and lose some of my hard work on the game pages or slap them all together and bluff that it's "character". I don't think LW will mind.

I made the back cover in my favorite color with a little love.

I'm thrilled with how it turned out and I can't wait to give it to LW on Sunday to see how he likes it!

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Newborn Cloth Diaper Organizer

Mo's diapers are ready!!!!!! I'm so excited. Walking by them in the nursery every time I am upstairs gives me happy feelings all over.

I love cloth diapering and started with LW when he was 9 days old. That seemed like an eternity so this time around, we may come home from the hospital with Mo in cloth. Sposies stink (literally) and blowouts are probably my #1 for most disgusting thing on the planet. Especially with newborn poop. Ohh gag.

When I started talking to a friend about cloth diapering before LW was born, she said the best advice she'd received was to have a newborn stash...and I have to say that has been some of the best advice we received as well! Thank you, Lindsey!!! Not only can you use newborn prefolds all throughout your cloth diapering journey (and beyond! Hello, window rags) via pocket or Flip inserts...newborns poop like A HUNDRED TIMES A DAY. So buying disposables during that time can be nearly $100/month! Ain't nobody got time (or cash) fo' dat!

This is what's in my (robust) newborn stash:
18 Gerber prefolds – these are HUGE and take some creative folding from the beginning, but they don't hold much pee so they're really only useful for newborns.

24 OsoCozy size 1 prefolds – OsoCozy makes the best prefolds. Period. That's my opinion because that's what we use but they're the darn-tootin' BEST! And now after LW has been using them for almost two years Mo is getting the softest, fluffiest, most wonderful feeling prefolds ever. What a lucky duck!

3 Snappis – Mo has to share. LW is still in prefolds too (size 2) so he only gets 3. We'll just be extra careful to try not to lose any.

12 NB AIO – These I have a variety of brands. Mo got his very own brand new Thirsties NB AIOs (thank you, Hubs!) and will use LW's old Rumparooz Lil Joeys (DID YOU KNOW they sell these at Kohl's now!? HELLO 30% off + Kohl's Cash + coupons – MAMAS GET ON THAT NOW!), BumGenius, GroVia and some off-brands sprinkled in.

Lil Joeys were my favorite AIO with LW as a newborn, and I think Thirsties new NB AIO are VERY similar in style, so I have a feeling we'll love those too. The new Thirsties NB AIOs will definitely be in our hospital bag so Mo's newborn photos will be taken while he wears them <3 (OMG I'm melting just thinking about that).

BG NBs were my least favorite with LW because he was such a heavy wetter from the start - one little pee and he was leaking out of those puppies. BUT, Mo may be different entirely so I will be using them on him.

10 NB Covers – These are primarily Thirsties size 1, but a Real Nappies, gDiapers and a Bumkins snuck in somehow :)

I have the bottom shelf filled with OS things that Mo will have - He's gotten some of his own brand new BG pockets as gifts and LW's old hook & loop flips were passed down to him, since LW now thinks it's a party to rip them off vs. wear them. Burp cloths are down there too, as you can see. This will eventually be where I shift some things around so I can put his OsoCozy prefolds but until it is closer to his arrival date, LW will keep using them.

If you have any questions about my stash - please comment below or on Facebook!! I love to talk diapers!

***All links to Amazon on this blog are now affiliated. Thanks!!***

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Pregnancy: 24 Week Update

How far along? 24 Weeks

Size of Baby:  Ear of corn!?! That seems so much bigger than a mango. Grow baby, grow! 

Weight Gain: 9lb so far. I'll take it. 

Nursery: Hubs hung the blinds in the nursery yesterday! I'm looking forward to selling our other house so we can move the twin to the new house and put LW in it. Setting the crib up in Mo's room will make the room seem much more real. 

And a dear friend gave me the diaper cart I've been aching for from IKEA (RASKOG)

I can't wait to set it up and fill it with my newborn stash for Mo!!!

Movement: The last twenty four hours he's doing some kind of polka in there - completely bouncing off the walls. It's fun to feel his little punches and kicks! 

Symptoms: Sciatic pain kicked in with a vengeance this week when I sat reclined on the couch. I am sticking to sitting in the good green chair because it has solid back support. 

Cravings: Honey Nut Cheerios. Ohhhh I could eat those like you wouldn't believe. Hubs joked this week that he's never known anyone who craved Cheerios like I do and my thought was, "What pregnancy craving ever seems rational!?" Just thinking about them, I need to eat them. I try to shut them out of my mind as long as I can each day, but right around now every night Mo says, "MOM! THE CHEERIOS!" and I must obey. I'm sorry, waistline. At least it's not Samoas this time around... 

Looking forward to: Having him in my arms and putting his tiny diapers on and watching him grow and experience the world the same way I watch LW every day. I just saw an old photo of LW on Facebook and it makes me curious as to how much Mo will look like him, act like him, mimic him... I am so excited to see them interact as brothers. 

LW - 5 month old

Things I can't stop thinking about: What the future holds. Waking up in the middle of the night again to nurse. Packing a diaper bag for two. Road trips as a family of four. Where will we go? What will we do? How active will we be this summer as we adjust to life as FOUR instead of three? Will I feel like I am under a dark cloud when Mo arrives the way I did with LW or will I be excited to get out and experience the world again? Will I bounce right back? Will I embrace life as mom of two boys? Will LWs clothes fit Mo? Will he grow faster? Slower? Will he nurse better? Will he cry louder? I am full of so much wonder. So many thoughts. So much excitement...and only 16 more weeks to wonder before I experience it all. I have to admit that the wonder is exhilarating. 

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Pregnancy: 23 Week Update

How far along? 23 Weeks

Size of Baby:  Mango?! I feel like we're going backwards here...

Weight Gain: Don't know. Don't care :) 

Nursery: We did find a dresser! I scored it for $30 on a Facebook garage sale and Hubs picked it up. It will be refinished navy :) 

Movement: He's busy in there lately - I have started thinking he is actually a weeble wobble. His head is down but his legs will kick over on my right side, then all of a sudden he's over on the left side kicking. He sways from one side to the other with his little booty. 

Symptoms: Tired. Oh am I tired. And I cry almost all of the time. 

Cravings: Nothing really notable this week. The turkey burger craving was fleeting last week. I didn't get another one and survived. 

Carbs taste pretty great though :) 

Looking forward to: putting tiny little cloth diapers on Simon's tiny little bottom. For Valentine's Day, Hubs got me exactly what I wanted, some of the new Ocean prints in the brand new Thirsties NB AIOs. Oh my word are they tiny and adorable.

Things I can't stop thinking about: A few big things are on my mind.... When the time is right, I will share. For now, prayers for patience would be appreciated! 

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