And the Cribsie goes to....

Stroller Traffic, A-List Mom and Diapers.com are hosting a fantastic Awards program right now. Even if you're not into voting {and this is a loooonnng list of categories} the list of nominees is a great way to find a lot of fantastic products and websites all in one place. Almost every one of my favorites is nominated in their respective category. The best of what you need all in one place!

So go vote or browse.  To make things easier {or influence your vote ;-)}, I've listed my votes below with some commentary to go with it:

MEALTIME:
Next Best Thing To Pureeing Your Own Baby Food - Ella's Kitchen {I would have voted for Plum Organics if they were nominated, and they really should've been}

Best Baby Bottles - The First Years Breastflow {definitely the best if you're breast feeding}

Most Stylish Way To Pack A Lunch - Kids Konserve Lunch Sack

Frozen Meals That Don't Make You Feel Like A Bad Mom - Dr. Praeger's Littles

Ultimate Leak-Proof Sippy Cup - BornFree Training Cups

Most Helpful Feeding-On-The-Go Accessory - Phil&Teds MeToo

Best Crowd-Pleasing Toddler Snack - Plum Organics Super Puffs

Handiest Cooking Gadget - Beaba Babycook {LOVE thing thing....you should get the carrying case too!}

Coolest Feeding Sets For Picky Palettes - thinkbaby

Best High Chair That Isn't An Eye Sore - Peg-Perego Prima Pappa {love this because it comes in colors that don't scream "BABY IN THE HOUSE NOW!"}

NURSERY:
Best Skincare For Babies - Earth Mama Angel Baby {Aveeno Baby is a close second for me and is more economical}

Coolest Cribs for Modern Tots - Oeuf {not so much into the "cool" crib trend (round?!?), but these are cool and practical}

The One Baby Gadget You Won't Regret Buying - Nosefrida Snot Sucker {of the nominees, there's no contest on this one in my opinion, but the Itzbeen timer is definitely second}

Most Reliable Video Monitor - Summer Infant BabyTouch {in a word....awesome. this coming from an admitted gadget geek}

Snuggliest Security Blankies - Little Giraffe Chenile Blanky {I have lots and lots of favorites...like Shi Shu Baby...but of those nominated, this one is the cudliest}

Best Infant Diapers - Huggies Overnites {this was a weird category. overnights vs. swaddlers vs. green vs. cloth. very confusing. my real choice for best disposable is Huggies Pure & Natural}

Safest Cleaning Products That Actually Work - BabyGanics {there's a lot of competition in this category, but I just really like BabyGanics for everything so I went with them}

Statement Crib Bedding Worth The Splurge - Ollie & Lime

Best Sleep-Inducing Swaddle Blanket - Aden + Anais {love, love, love their blankets AND wash cloths}

Cutest Nursery Wall Decals - Pop & Lolli {haven't tried them, but like their name :) and really like the fact that they are 100% Made In The USA}

PLAY:
Most Stimulating Activity Gym - Tiny Love Gymini Super Deluxe

The Toy Every Teething Tyke Needs - Sophie Giraffe {thought this was overrated until my 2nd little one wouldn't stop chewing on it!}

Best Distraction When You Need To Shower - 4moms mamaRoo Infant Seat

Catchiest Kids Tunes - Putumayo Kids {Laurie Berkner is a close second. love Telephone and Buzz Buzz Buzz}

Favorite Show That Won't Fry A Tot's Brain - Sid The Science Kid {and of course Sesame Street too...I'm a purest}

Most Entertaining Tub Toys - Alex Toys

Coolest Way To Keep Track Of Their Stuff - Mabel's Labels {Wish they were a US company, but their labels hold up really really well so I have to give it to them}

Wooden Toys They Won't Want To Share - Melissa & Doug {I love everything they make. THE best toy company for young children.}

Most Inspiring Art Supplies - Miss Brittany's {so glad they are getting noticed!}

Best Thing On Wheels - Radio Flyer Wagons


To be continued....

Virtual Baby

They change so fast! We try as hard a possible to capture, record, memorialize all of the special moments. But being a mommy to 1, 2, 3 or more little ones does not leave you with the luxury of leisurely writing in and designing a baby book. And if you're like me, your smartphone, tablet, laptop is usually a lot closer when these memories occur than that beautifully embroidered keepsake book gathering dust in the top of your little one's closet. 

I soooo want to be the mommy who has a beautiful book that includes all of my little ones' firsts and special keepsakes.  But alas, I'm up to baby number 2 and haven't even gotten past 4 months in my book for baby number 1.

That is why I LOVE the concept behind MyOwnLittleStory. They claim to be the "only on-line baby book with email reminders".  Sounds good to me, but I haven't come across any with non-email reminders so..hey...ok. But what I think is great about them is that:

♥ you can design and create a book for free {yes, free!}. That way if you start working on it, with all the best of intentions, you're not out 25, 50, 75 bucks if you don't quite complete the project; 

♥ the interface is so user-friendly and they even give you prompts {on each page and via email} so you don't have to come up with what to include on each page; 

♥ your book can be as long or as short as you want; and 

♥ best of all, you can upload pictures to your book! What I lack in book creation, I more than make up for in photographic memory creation.  I have gigabytes of photos of my boys. Cheese was {and likely will be} both of their first words.

The only catch is what the book looks like after you print it. That's where the money comes in, but the prices are reasonable.  Unfortunately, they don't give you a lot of detail about what the finished product will look like, or better yet show you detailed samples of finished book. It would be very helpful for me to see how moms who are really good at this wrote in and designed their books. 

If nothing else, I have an easy and highly accessible place to record the memories until I get around to actually figuring out the book creation process. Which is.....Priceless.

A Picture's Worth $1000 Words

Okay, maybe not $1000, but at least half.  The Sony Alpha NEX-3 is just awesome. When my son was born we purchased a Canon DSLR.  I love to take photographs, but I hated the slow shutter speed of the pocket digital cameras {at the time}.  I knew that to really capture infants and small children, you need very fast response time.  So we splurged and and purchased the big bulky DSLR and I haven't regretted the purchase to this day.  

What I do long for is the size of the pocket cameras. When you have 2 kids and all the myriad things that come with them, the last thing you can afford to add to it is a big, bulky, fragile camera.  But I've done it, it's just not fun.  And I've missed a lot of photographic opportunities solely because I didn't have enough hands {or energy} to pull out my DSLR. 

This Christmas I was helping my mom pick a gift for my dad.  Now, he's still using a Cybershot from 2000.  Needless, to say, it's slooowww.  But as I looked for a new flicker, I stumbled across Smile Shutter from Sony.  It's on a number of their cameras, but I liked it best paired with the Sony Alpha NEX-3.  The Smile Shutter, when enabled, makes the camera take a picture when the subjects smile.  

This is incredibly useful when your subjects are little people who smile quickly and out of the blue. So I was eager to try it out on Christmas Day.  Unfortunately, that did not happen because Sony does not include memory sticks with their cameras {can we say cheap! geez}.  A few days later, after I received the memory stick from Amazon I took the Alpha NEX-3 out for a click.  The results were so wonderful! 

My seven month old is the most adorable little one ever {yes, I'm biased} and looks even more amazing when he smiles.  But it's difficult to catch him cracking one.  I'm always so busy trying to get him to smile, I often miss the smiles or catch them on the tail end.  But with the Smile Shutter set, I just held up the camera while I made funny noises and faces trying to get my little one to smile.  And just as advertised, as soon as he flashed his pearly 2 whites, the shutter snapped.  The picture is the best one I have and I can't wait to take many many more.

SMILE!
{not my little one, but he's still cute}

Boutique Magnifique

I recently moved to Washington, DC and while I was born and raised in this area, I have been in New York for so long now I feel like a New Yorker.  So, returning to this area has been a huge adjustment.

 Like any good New Yorker {read snob}, I think every other city is just not good enough.  The restaurants are not as good. The shopping's not as good. The people aren't as interesting {read rude}. 

For an urban-mom like me that includes the baby boutiques, activities and Mommy and Me groups.  Will they be as trendy?  Will there be tons of activities to choose from?  Will I even want to join any of the groups?

Well the answer to the first question at least is a resounding Yes!  I know that Georgetown has always been a generally cool place to shop, but I didn't know Capitol Hill was so fab!  I particularly love the row of family-friendly shops near Eastern Market and especially Dawn Price Baby.  They have all of the best baby gear, clothing and gifts that you could want.  Her taste is impeccable.  I strolled through their Capitol Hill shop thinking "I like that, and that and that and that, ooh and that too!"  So, of course, I had to pick up a few things that I needed {eehhm yes needed} for my little ones -- French flash cards, mitten clips and an über cute cable knit outfit. 

If you are a NYC-transplant in the DC area, be sure to check out Dawn Price Baby.  And for a few minutes you may forget that you're strolling the shops in our nation's capital and think you've just stumbled across a cute new baby boutique in SoHo.

It's A Dirty Job

It's kinda gross, but during this marathon cold season, it's my most prized possession.

One of the hardest aspects of having a little one {and there are a lot of them} is dealing with colds.  When my children were infants I worked really hard to get them as old as possible before they caught their first cold -- i.e., being a sanitizer nazi, refusing to let people get too near, much less touch, them when they were really young, etc.  Because NOTHING is worse than a congested newborn.  I do mean nothing. 

Yes, there is the aspirator, but really who wants to stick that big bulby, sticky thing up that precious, moving target of a nose {they learn really quickly to start squirming when they see the thing coming}.  In fact, I swear I remember that thing my from my own childhood; and believe me the memories are not fond.

That's why I love love LOVE the SNOT SUCKER 2000 {not the real name, but that's what I call it}.  This nasal aspirator is ridiculously simple, but so effective.  Particularly when you are attempting to remove snot {don't you just love that word!} by yourself from an uncooperative little human.  I used to have my husband hold their heads while I tried to suck out the snot, but not anymore!

Oh and yes it seems gross that you are literally sucking the snot with your mouth, but trust me, it doesn't get anywhere close to your mouth. :)

Return of the Spunky child

Now that I have two children, my wardrobe has become increasingly static.  Any money allotted in our budget for clothing goes exclusively to our kiddos who are growing like weeds.  So I feed the shopping fiend within by outfitting my kids in cute clothing that they need {need, yeah need}.

There are soooooo many on-line kids boutiques out now claiming to offer stylish/posh/couture/one-of-a kind/[fill in the unique blank], but so few live up to their claim.  Spunky Sprout, however, delivers.  They have soooo many cute things, and for boys too! I have barely begun to scratch the surface of all they have to offer.  But let's just say it was love at first sight when I saw these items {it was so hard to only pick a few}:

The boots have to be my absolute fav item! My sons will BOTH be getting those. I love the cable knit hats, mostly because I love anything cable knit, and these look nice, warm and soft.  The taupe onesie looks plain, but for those moms out there you know how "different" this one looks. I love it!  And the PJs are just cute. 

Now you know I couldn't leave the site without {wistfully} taking a peek at the little girls clothes and shoes.  They are, of course, even more fabulicious....*sigh*:

I can't wait until I have the time to check out everything else! {follow-up post may be in order}

I am happy to share with you a promo code to save 10% off your order.  This code is for Spunky Sprout's loyal followers, which I'm sure you'll all be now.  But use it soon because it expires December 14, 2010!  CODE: fbspunky10

To watch or not to watch....

When we had our first child we were fortunate enough to have my husband's mother living with us who watched our little one.  Now we have 2 and no longer have the luxury of live-in family help.  So we are faced with the scenario that many working couples are facing, getting a nanny.

Once you get past the research, interviews and selection process and have settled on someone who {hopefully} seems perfect, the question invariably comes up "Should we get a nanny cam?"  I mean this is a person you likely don't know at all -- except for what she has told you and what you may have heard from others -- who is going to be looking after your most precious treasure(s).  It makes sense that you want to check-in on her.  Of course my fear is, what if you see something that you don't like, but it isn't a fireable offense.  You can't bring it up but it will eat you up just knowing about it.  To know or not to know, that is the question.

In case you are in the "To know!" category, there are some great devices out there that you can rig up in your home and watch from anywhere {work, a restaurant, the spa, the mall}.  Some, like the ones below, can be disguised as clocks, teddy bears, or stuck in small areas.  Others, like the Avaak Vue Personal Video Network, aren't shaped like a decoy, but can easily be hidden anywhere.  The Vue is the easiest and simplest nanny cam I've found.  There is no software to load and you can view the cameras from any internet browser. It’s really that simple!