Monday, December 3, 2012

Toys for Babies Holiday Guide and Giveaway over at B-Inspired Mama!

Head on over to B-Inspired Mama! to check out her Top Toys for Babies Gift Guide and while you at it enter to win Melissa & Doug Rattle Rumble Push Toy!  Every baby needs a push toy and this is a great one!   Go check out a great blogger and have fun entering the giveaway! :-)  Happy Holidays Everyone!







Monday, September 24, 2012

Crappy Mom? Why Sure!

There's a lovely group of bloggers out there currently writing "Crappy Mom" blogs.  I saw them and thought I'd join in. Thank you Jen @ Life with Levi for all your thoughts and blogs.  I am proud to say that I am a Crappy Mom too!  Here are some reasons why I'm a Crappy Mom! :-)


Why I'm a Crappy Mom

I breastfeed Sophistication

I use disposable diapers

I hug her several times a day

I give her kisses all the time and will until the day I die, even when she pushes me away

I plan on homeschooling her
I use organic products when I can afford them but don't loose sleep if I don't

I let her eat off the floor ~  A little dirt never hurt

I will let her play outside

She has already played with water straight from a hose and will continue to do so

I let her play with my phone even though it goes wonkey when she does

I follow regular vaccinations

I forget to disinfect her toys before she plays with them

I co-sleep

I walk out of the room to go potty and come back in the room and shes has puffies everywhere... I let her eat them anyways...

I use words like tinkle and potty in adult conversations

She is rear-facing in her car seat and I will continue to do so for as long as possible

When I come home from work I run to go get her instead of going potty, even though I've usually had to go for over an hour... ( and yes even when I point it out to myself I still use the word potty)

I swear in front of her when I stub my toe

I let her play with her toothbrushes hoping that when she gets older she won't fight me on brushing her teeth

I cry when she "hits" me instead of saying no

I save the word "no" for big scary things

I let her pull all the DVD's off the shelf and play with them... then spend an hour after she goes to bed re-organizing them

I let her watch Glee and Dancing with the Stars with me even though they are on past her "bedtime"

I let her stay up until 2 if she wants so she will sleep until 10

I teach her about God, however I also teach her about other versions of God

She will be brought up Christian, however have a healthy dose of Jewish and a little Buddhist thrown in too to teach her tolerance

She gets Hanuka and Christmas ~ Thanks Grandma Sue!

Her favorite Aunt is a lesbian and I couldn't be more proud of her!

I grumble and grouch when she wakes me up at 5am even though she didn't go to sleep until 11

I work second shift as a server to pay the bills

My husband and I live in two different states and visit each other when we can afford too otherwise we Skype

My husband returned to University to finish his degree for our daughter so he misses stuff so I get to take lots and lots and lots of pictures and video :-)

Sophistication has over 10 gigs of pictures and video taken of her already and shes not even 1!  This will be interesting when she's an adult

I put my blog on hold because she comes first in everything

I have lots of blog ideas but no time to accomplish them being a single mom of an almost toddler that does not have a regular sleep schedule

This blog took me 5 days to type up with several interruptions including an 8 hour ER stay for me and I don't care

And last but not least I enjoy when my husband tosses her in the air even though I'm terrified that he'll miss her because it brings them both such great JOY


These are some of the many reasons why I'm a crappy mom and I'm damn proud of them.  I'm sure I forgot some things but it was nice writing them down too...   I love my family!  Hey there's another one! < 3











Saturday, September 1, 2012

Go enter a giveaway!

Enter the GeoSafari Tuff Cam giveaway at The Link Fairy!

I know the bottom link is broken and I can not figure out how to fix it, however if you click HERE it will take you to the giveaway page on The Link Fairy.
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/NDA4NGNmMWYyYzRmMWU5YTM3ZWQyNzc4YzhjMzgxOjE3/

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

I can't decide on a set! Help me pick Sophistication's Skip Hop set!

In a couple days Sophistication will be 10 months old.  This made me realize that I need to start shopping for her first birthday.  We all want to make our babies first birthdays memorable.  I keep looking at blogs, lists and advice on what to get her for her birthday.  She does not need clothing, toys or books.  The reason she doesn't need books is I already owned too many to count from my childhood and she belongs to a book club already.  I found Skip Hop through Citrus Lane.  I love their luggage, backpacks and lunch-bags.  The only problem is I can NOT decide which ones to get.  Therefore I am taking advice from others.  I picked out sets that I like and just can not decide which one to get.   Group A is the Bee/Ladybug/Frog combination.  Group B is the Dog/Cat/Mouse.  and Group C is a mix of 5 and I can only choose three so there is even more flexibility there.  The Monkey is a must for Group C, as it is the only one offered in the luggage but I still need to narrow down two out of the Zebra/Elephant/Giraffe/Hippo choices.  Let me know what you think and after Sophistication's 1st Birthday you'll find out which set was chosen.  :-)   Thanks for the help and input.  < 3 




If you would like to view the other options click on the links below to see all the 
choices available from Skip Hop.


Skip Hop Backpacks  $20

Skip Hop Luggage  $ 38

Skip Hop Lunch Bags  $14

Oh and I have a 25% off total purchase coupon that I want to utilize which is why I want to get all three at once.

Friday, August 10, 2012

We have top teeth!

 We have top teeth that have finally broken through!

Sophistication stole mommy's corn on the cob.  Took her a few minutes but she figured out how to munch on it... at least for a minute or two.... :-)

Disliking Blogger's Mobile App

So I have been attempting to publish my recent blogs through the mobile app for Android and some how have messed my ENTIRE page up!  !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!???????????GRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am unsure how this happened and all of the posts I thought I had posted either disappeared into the ether or are saved as drafts.  

The only reason I can think that this has happened is that I just received a new mobile and still had the old one activated for blogger as I sometimes use it on WiFi around the house.  The camera on my old phone is decent and I use it near water so if it gets ruined I don't care as it is not my "good" aka new phone.  So here's to hoping I get everything fixed in the next day or soo as I've messed up many many things... :0/

Thanks for bearing with me! :-)

Dee aka Sophistication's Mom!

Friday, July 20, 2012

New favorite food? Oh yes I do believe so....

Today we tried a new food four the first time.... fig newtons... I do believe that sophistication loves them! She ate three whole cookies by herself. That is not including the crumbs that ate everywhere.However she feed herself three and I'm sticking too it!  What are your toddlers favorite snacks?




Friday, July 13, 2012

How to give an Awesome Baby Shower Present for Less!

The other day my mother informed me that I have two cousins expecting babies, one a girl and the other a boy!  We live on a tight budget and I always like to try to give awesome presents to new babies in the family.  I do this by buying on clearance and having a "baby bin" in the back of my closet.  I wanted to share with everyone on how I put together my presents by using sales and my daughters favorite toys.  The presents pictured below are priced approximately at $30 and $40 for the last picture.  The value of these are worth $50 or more at full price clothing.  

Total Cost without Tax $29.67
1:  Babies always get tons of clothing at baby showers so I try to give larger sizes in layer-able outfits.   I also buy towards the end of season on clearance when I can.  Below are pictured the girls and boys presents that I put together.  The boys outfits cost me under $10.00 for both.  I found the Mommy's Heart Breaker outfit for 85% off! and the blue outfit for 75% off.  The girls outfits were 75% and 90% off!  I also spent under $10 on both girls outfits. :-) By utilizing the sales at the end of the seasons I keep around 6 outfits for each gender, as well as a couple gender neutral's in my bin in the off chance of multiple births or a baby boom.  This recently happened last year with 7 of my friends preggers at once!  This way I can keep around $50 invested in clothing and have much more variety.  

2:   I give the Infantino Light and Sound ball as it is a great toy to grow with your child.  The ball lights up and plays music when you shake it.  I used this from birth for Sophistication to help her enjoy tummy time more.  I would lay her on her belly and shake the ball next to her.  Now that she is crawling around and picking up toys on her own she loves to shake it and roll it around on the floor.
Total Cost without Tax $29.67

3:  I utilize dollar stores/kmart/walmart/amazon sales as much as possible to get the best prices on clothing and toys, but even full price toys can be reasonably priced.  Dollar stores are great to find teethers and bath books.  

4:  I make my own toys by utilizing multi-packs and breaking them down.  

  • Baby Links typically come in a 24 piece package for $5.  I then combine this with a teething ring to make my own teething ring/link combo.  I use 8 links and the teether that I typically get at the dollar store for a total of $2.66 for total cost.  This is similar to Sassy Ring O'Links Rattle.     
  • Splitting up PVC Ball Bag's is great too.  I bought a bag of 100 at my local Walmart for $10.50 however online they are priced $15.  If you give one of each color you can spread this cost over 10 people easily bringing the price of 10 balls down to $1-$1.5! Part of why I split up the bag is as a parent I find that 100 balls are a lot to keep in check unless you have a ball pit.  The PVC balls are a perfect size for little ones to practice gripping and throwing to mommy and daddy!    In the pictures below I gave larger bouncy balls with numbers on them that I found at my local Dollar store. 
4.  All of the toys I give are kid tested by my daughter as some of her absolute favorites.  

Total Price $39.76!
 Items I give include:
  • Infantino Light & Sound Ball $10
  • Mix Link/Teether ring 
  • 2 outfits both for under $10
  • Dollar store items...
    • Bath books (1-2)
    • Teething Toys (1-2)
    • Ball(s)
    • Animal Loofah
extra items 
  • Infantino Activity Toy Set  $11.09
    • This can be substituted for the light and sound ball and a teether for a lower cost bundle.  I frequently use this with just an outfit and my teether/link for an under $20 option :-)


Using these items you can make a great gift at any price point!  $10/$20/$30 on up! By mixing and matching these toys and clothing deals you can come up with a great present for very little money.

I hope you enjoy...


I personally paid for all of the items I have blogged about here.  Have used them with Sophistication and approve of them for my child.  I have received no compensation from any company for the review given here and all links are controlled by their own respective companies.



Thursday, June 21, 2012

Book review of Ten Little FINGERS and Ten Little TOES by Mem Fox and Helen Oxenbury


Ten Little FINGERS and Ten Little TOES by Mem Fox and Helen Oxenbury is an adorable  board book.  I received this book about a week ago from a Book for Babies event through our local Family Reading Partnership otherwise known as our first ever "Baby Book Bash"!  There were guest readers, crafts and activities as well as books for all the babies and children that attended!  There were books to choose from for all.  Every family also got a new book and it was Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes!  Amazon recommends this book for children 2+ however my daughter isn't even 8 months old yet and she LOVES when I read it.  I read it twice in a row for her today, all the while she was bouncing up and down on her bottom waving her hands.  When I stopped after the first time through she started going "Uh Uh Uh!!!"  Her way of showing displeasure.  I personally like the way the book flows and is an easy read while your flipping pages to keep baby entertained.  I recommend this book for children from birth and up!  


Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little TOes is Copyright (October 2008) Mem Fox and Helen Oxenbury: Harcourt Children's Books

Biography

MEM FOX is the author of many acclaimed books, including Possum Magic, Koala Lou, Time for Bed, and, for adults, Reading Magic: Why Reading Aloud to Our Children Will Change Their Lives Forever. She lives in Adelaide, Australia. (Cited from Amazon)

Hot in the shade today! I hope everyone stayed cool in the heat. :-)


Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Returning to the Blog-o-sphere!


Hey all!  This is Dee A.K.A Sophistication's Mom!  After a hiatus of a year and a half I have returned to blogging!  I will soon be placing product reviews, parenting blogs and other randomness hopefully at least twice a week!  


Just a little bit about myself...

I am a happily married 30 year old mother of one so far!
Sophistication is our life! Of course ;-) 
We have 5 dogs and 1 very insistent cat!
My parents live with us!  Yes that's right!  
We are a multi-generational household. :-)
We are also a soon-to-be multi-state household.
My husband is returning to College in the fall and we will not be joining him due to finances and daycare issues. 

Hope you all have a joyous day/night!

If you have any questions please feel free to comment or send an email! :-)