Do you know where you’re going on your next vacation??? I LOVE to travel and if there’s one thing I’ll splurge money on, it’s that (and concert tickets lol). My husband and I set plans and travel when we can. I think next on our list for a “big” vacation is a trip to Disney for the kids in a few years! The husband and I just got home from a vacation sans kids (what a rarity!)–we were celebrating our 5 year anniversary.

Mmmm, kinda makes you want to jump in the car or on a plane, right? Research says 70% of people don’t know where they’re going when beginning the trip-planning process. Are you one of them?

DoubleTree by Hilton is launching DTour, the first-of-its-kind YouTube channel for the hotel industry, created in collaboration with Google. “DTour offers travelers a whole new way to plan and share trips. It’s so easy — simply visit the site to upload a photo snapped on Instagram or a video from Facebook. Users can also explore other travelers’ favorite photos, videos, tips and stories to get inspired to plan the trips they’ve always wanted to take!”

And get ready for this amazing opportunity–DoubleTree is hosting the DTour of a Lifetime competition: six brand ambassadors who will get to travel the world, having adventures of a lifetime, enjoying  DoubleTree by Hilton hospitality, and sharing their travel tips and stories on DTour. AMAZING.

Want to find our more?! Join the twitter party on May 21st (this Tuesday!) from 12-1pm EST. We’ll have travel guru @JuliaDimon there to answer all your travel questions so ask away! Here are the details, prizes, and link for you to RSVP:

See you on Tuesday!

The post DoubleTree by Hilton #DTourParty on Twitter 5/21! appeared first on Baby Dickey | Chicago, IL Mom Blogger.

I saw this awhile ago on Little BGCG’s blog, but at the time Ryan refused to answer any questions, haha. I just got him to sit down and chat with me… some of these questions he came up with an answer right away, but some of them I had to give him a big list of things and he picked one (like favorite holiday and favorite toy).

1. What is your favorite color? green and purple and blue and orange and yellow

2. What is your favorite toy? my bike

3. What is your favorite fruit? strawberries and bananas and alllllll the fruits are my favorite

4. What is your favorite tv show? George! (Curious George)

5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? mac and cheese, but you won’t give it to me [lol!]

6. What is your favorite outfit?  when it’s warm out I like to wear shorts and a pajama shirt

7. What is your favorite game? candy crush on the pad

8. What is your favorite snack? yogurt

9. What is your favorite animal? one that isn’t mad.… a cat!

10. What is your favorite song? Magic!

11. What is your favorite book? George [Curious George]

12. Who is your best friend? It’s a mommy!

13. What is your favorite cereal? Special K

14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? mow the lawn

15. What is your favorite drink? monsters inc [apple juice with monsters on the label lol]

16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas

17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? one of my animals… Mr. Lion

18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?  nothing

19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? mac and cheese. No, cake!

20. What do you want to be when you grow up? I have no idea. I want to be a mommy. Or a station master.

The post Straight from the mouth of my 3 year old appeared first on Baby Dickey | Chicago, IL Mom Blogger.

I fully admit we’re a bunch of science nerds in this house. I even have a shirt that says, “I <3 my engineering geek.” Our children are doomed I love teaching Ryan about everything science related and seeing how excited he gets–I mean, every single thing around us is science and a 3-year-old is just FULL of questions about how things work and why things do what they do… and I tell Ryan about all of it! I was super excited to receive a kit from The Young Scientists Club for Ryan.

The Young Scientists Club is full of award-winning science kits for kids. You can buy just a kit, but they also have a monthly subscription plan, which is awesome. You know how sometimes it’s hard to get a kid excited about something new? It can be hard to get their attention. The Young Scientists Club uses fun themes and popular characters to get your children involved. I mean, who doesn’t love The Magic School Bus and Clifford the Big Red Dog?! There’s also adventure and nature themed kits to choose from.

The Young Scientists Club

Five new kits from The Young Scientists Club are shown above. There are 3 with Clifford: Bubble Science, Kitchen Science, and Rainbow Science; and two from The Magic School Bus series: Weather Lab and The Wonders of Nature. Kits range from $19.99 to $39.99 and will open up the world of science to your children–from an exploding volcano and tornado in a bottle to using pipettes and creating a rain cloud!

We received Clifford’s Rainbow Science kit because lately Ryan has been obsessed with mixing colors–since dying Easter eggs in March! It was hard to choose because all of the kits look awesome, but I knew Ryan would especially love this one. It came with a book that was full of experiments–it could easily last an entire week of science time. In the photo above he had used a measuring cup of vegetable oil, a funnel to pour it in the test tube, and a pipette (that he learned how to use in the earlier experiments!) to add food coloring. He shook it up and watched the bubbles form as the coloring wouldn’t mix with the oil. Science is fun!

The kit really walked you through the experiments with step-by-step instructions and photos, along with text from Clifford and Emily, of course! The experiments started out simple (like learning to use a pipette with water and dropping food coloring into a bowl of milk) and got more complex as Ryan learned new skills (like mixing oil and water in a test tube with food coloring to see the color mix with the water but not with the oil).

The end was “LIKE MAGIC!!!” says Ryan. Baking soda + food coloring + vinegar… a colorful bubble EXPLOSION! Ryan was THRILLED and kept calling it magic. I said, “no, it’s SCIENCE!”

You can find these kits and so many more at The Young Scientists Club. There’s a reason they’re award-winning! “The mission of The Young Scientists Club is simple – to offer children quality, science-related products that will fascinate them with the wonders of scientific discovery and spark their interest in future scientific endeavors.   All our products are designed by a team of Harvard graduates, scientists, educators, and parents with one purpose in mind – to combine fun and fascination with quality and learning in each and every product.”

The entire line of Clifford science kits just won the Tillywig Toy & Media Brain Child Award, given only to “exciting products that energize the mind while seamlessly blending fun and learning!”

GIVEAWAY: one lucky reader will win their choice of science kit from the 5 listed above (Bubble, Kitchen, Rainbow, Weather, or Nature). Please use the form below to enter–good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The post Ryan the Scientist (giveaway) appeared first on Baby Dickey | Chicago, IL Mom Blogger.

Remember our new Chicago Cubs MLB stroller? Kolcraft has a whole new line of Official MLB products including step stools and  potty seats, too! I knowwww the Cubs aren’t so hot right now… how far under 500? I can’t even look, eek. But we’re tried and true fans in this house and proud of our new MLB step stool–GO, CUBS, GO! I’m pretty sure the Chicago Cubs were even mentioned in our wedding vows. True story.

Our new MLB step stool? Love it! It’s too funny how excited Ryan gets over something like a step stool–apparently it’s the best present ever for a 3yo, if you’re wondering, lol.

Anyway, the stool is fantastic. And not just because it’s for the Chicago Cubs It has two steps, non-slip feet, and textured tops to help prevent slipping. The very top of the stool is also designed to be extra cute–it looks like home plate.

Cubs MLB step stool

Hmm, I suppose I could take off that lower sticker on the front, eh? lol. Rebecca tries to climb up the stool and Ryan takes it with him everywhere. I used to complain that it seemed like we needed a step stool in every room of the house to make our lives easier, but now Ryan literally just carries this one anywhere he needs it… and he likes it so much he doesn’t mind at all running to go get it. We’ve had it for a couple of weeks now, but just TODAY my mom stopped over and Ryan immediately yelled, “Look at my new CUBS STOOL!” even though he’s shown it to her before, haha.

He uses it in the kitchen to help me cook, in the bathrooms to reach the sink, in bedrooms to reach the light switches, and all those other places he probably shouldn’t be using it like in the pantry to reach the cookies, haha. Stinker.

It’s super light so he can easily pick it up and carry it everywhere. It is sturdy and with the non-slip feet on the bottom, I don’t worry about the stool sliding out from under him (like some other stools we’ve had). The MLB step stool is a must for all baseball fans!

You can get an MLB step stool for $19.99 and they come in the following teams: Chicago Cubs, NY Yankees, Texas Rangers, Philadelphia Phillies, Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, St. Louis Cardinals, and San Francisco Giants.

GIVEAWAY: one lucky reader is going to win their own MLB step stool from Kolcraft! Winner chooses team. Please use the form below to enter–good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The post Kolcraft's MLB step stool (giveaway) appeared first on Baby Dickey | Chicago, IL Mom Blogger.

Ryan has just expoloded into the world of imaginative play recently. I love listening in on his conversations with his stuffed animals, hearing his stories about his cars and trains, and seeing his version of our favorite books as he “reads” to me. I discovered Aeromax and their dress up gear for kids and fell in love. I have visions of a play closet or coat rack corner for my kids and their dress up clothes and accessories.… don’t you remember those days when you were a child?! I hosted tea parties and dresses like a princess, obviously, lol.

Aeromax has been around for 16 years and now has over 300 products… what does your kid want to be?! Or what do YOU want to be? They have an adult line, too! Ah, I can fulfill my dreams of being a pirate

Aeromax has a line of “My 1st Career Gear,” which is where I found Ryan’s two new favorite outfits It’s hard to choose!!!! And if you can’t, they have assortment sets with 6 shirts. The gear in this section is meant to be one-size for about ages 3–5. Aeromax also has dress up clothes for 6–12 months, 18 months, youth sizes, and adult, plus accessories and toys.

I showed Ryan the photo above and let him pick out what he wanted. He went with the train conductor (of course! he loves his trains and they cover an entire room in our basement!) and the chef! Great choices–he’s always helping me in the kitchen. As soon as they arrived Ryan had to try them on. We often spend a part of our day switching between the two and having fun conducting and cooking!

Ryan loves to “cook stuff” and it’s just about a million times better in his chef outfit. These are made to be easy to put on so that your children can do it by themselves. They open all the way down the front and close with velcro. It’s just like putting on a jacket. Ryan is 3 years and 4 months and while his outfits are a little big, they stay on and fit just fine. I’m glad they’re on the larger side so they last for a long time! I agree with Aeromax’s age range of 3–5 years.

((The stove is NOT on, there is nothing but water in the pot, and Ryan knows the stove rules )

“Mom, it has a POCKET! Look at this pocket!!!!”

Haha, yes, there is a pocket!!! On both outfits there’s a chest pocket with a see-through plastic screen so you can insert a name tag! He’s not just a chef… he’s Chef Ryan!

And… he’s Ryan the Train Conductor!

Don’t mind our messy basement train room… or Rebecca’s video bomb (and me laughing at her), lol. Ryan says train conductors chug trains! (And yes, I did try on the outfit. It went on, but didn’t velcro shut LOL. Should they update the age range from 3 years old up to late twenties?!) You can get the train conductor and chef shirts for $13.95 each at Aeromax. Make sure you also find Aeromax on Facebook!

~I received the two items above from Aeromax to facilitate my review. All opinions are my own!

The post It's a Chef! It's a Train Conductor! It's.... RYAN! appeared first on Baby Dickey | Chicago, IL Mom Blogger.

I love ThinkFun and their educational games for kids… we have a few of them. We recently received Hello Sunshine! and I’m happy to report that it’s another favorite and we definitely recommend it!

It’s for ages 18 months and up so I wondered how my 3-year-old son would like it. It’s definitely educational and helps kids learn concepts like: next to, in, behind, on top, under, etc. My son knows the meaning of those words, but Hello Sunshine! is still educational for him because now he’s matching the word to the written text.

I really like the cards in this game (18 double-sided cards) because they’re accompanied by photos. Ryan is able to play this game with me because although he can’t read yet, he knows exactly what action he’s supposed to take by looking at the photo (and ideally he’s seeing the text and learning that, as well).

Ryan gets SO excited when we play this game. It’s like a mix between hide-and-seek and a treasure hunt. At first, I hid the Sun and then gave Ryan the card to go an find it. After he got used to the game and what the cards said, he wanted to do the hiding himself and watch me find the Sun. Ohhh, what a kick he gets out of watching mommy find the Sun that he hid somewhere in the house, haha.

He’ll say, “Mom, it’s behind a chair! Go find it!” and I’ll start looking around the house… behind all the chairs… “No, mom, not THAT chair! It’s behind a DIFFERENT chair! Maybe in that room over there!” Haha. And then he hops up and down and runs all through the house! I love that Hello Sunshine keeps him active and happy–and it’s educational and fun!

“Look! The Sun is in my bed!”

There’s even a handy little velcro pouch on the bottom of the Sun that holds the cards for easy storage. My son and my mom just went out for lunch together and Ryan insisted on taking “Mr. Sun” with him, haha. Thankfully, the Sun is machine washable!

Our daughter is 14 months old and pretty soon she’s going to love getting in on the action! She just started walking so she needs to learn to keep up with her big brother

You can buy Hello Sunshine! by ThinkFun on Amazon for $18.66. Makes a great game for your own child or a wonderful birthday gift!

“I found it! Under this blanket!”

GIVEAWAY: one lucky reader is going to win their own Hello Sunshine! game from ThinkFun! Please use the form below to enter–good luck! US ONLY.

~I received Hello Sunshine from ThinkFun to facilitate my review. All opinions are my own!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The post Hello Sunshine! ThinkFun giveaway appeared first on Baby Dickey | Chicago, IL Mom Blogger.

We all know I’m a breastfeeding advocate and still nursing my 3yo and my 1yo. While my kids were exclusively breastfed until ~8 months old, they still had the occasional bottle. When Ryan was little, I taught part-time and I pumped while I was gone. In the 3 years I’ve had kids, I’ve taken a few trips (weekend getaways with the husband, conferences, etc.), I’ve pumped, and my kids had bottles. I love being able to try new nursing products that make life easier on a breastfeeding mom and share them with all of you… I was thrilled to receive the NEW Philips AVENT Comfort Breast Pump.

I’ve tried a few different pumps so I’m happy to share my favorite things about this one. There are multiple ways the Comfort Breast Pump has made my life easier! First — the comfort and ease of use. The angle and size of this breast flange just makes it easy to use… no need to lean forward to make sure your milk is going down into the bottle (you know what I’m talking about, right?!). That just makes an overall more comfortable experience… one less thing to think about… and when you’re relaxed, your milk flows more easily. And check out the massage cushion — comfortable AND helps promote milk flow:

Second — the size and portability! I recently flew to the west coast, just for one night, and I had to lug a breast pump with me, of course. Luckily they count a pump as a medical device and don’t count it toward your carry-on count, but it IS hard to have an extra (fairly heavy) bag to carry through the airport.

The Comfort Breast Pump? So much lighter and easier for me to transport. I’m taking a mini vacation with the husband in a couple of weeks for our 5-year anniversary and I’m thrilled to now have this breast pump to take with me. ((What am I going to do with myself when I can finally travel WITHOUT a pump?! I think I’ll be lost! lol)). The tubing wraps around the base, this little baby will go right in my carry-on bag, and it can be used with batteries.

More details on this Philips AVENT Comfort Breast Pump:

• gentle stimulation mode until your milk starts flowing
• massage cushion for the flange with velvety texture
• three pump settings to select your comfort level
• compact and lightweight
• easy cleaning (not a ton of separate pieces)
• operates at the touch of a button (no dials and knobs–my 3yo helps me use it lol)
• easy assembly — pieces visually match together and there just aren’t a lot of pieces to mess with

I want to comment on the easy assembly and cleaning… I used to have a pump that I seriously had to pull out the directions every time I put it together and took it apart (sooo, for every cleaning). It was THAT complicated and had that many pieces. With the Comfort Breast Pump, you can pick up a piece and just see where it needs to go by its shape and purpose. It’s fast and that makes me happy.

The Comfort Breast Pump by Philips AVENT is available from a number of retailers, like Amazon for $129.90. There is also a double electric version of the Comfort Breast Pump for $224.90. If you’re trying to decide what you need, I’d say get a double if you need it at work to pump quickly. I often use a single pump on both sides and it’s not that time consuming… especially with this one where you don’t have to worry about leaning forward… you can sit comfortably and even work on something else while pumping.

The pump also comes with 2 day-time breast pads, 2 night-time breast pads, a sealing disc for milk storage, and a 4oz natural bottle with newborn nipple. This bottle helps to make the transition between breast and bottle smooth with a nipple that creates a more natural latch. No worries if you already have AVENT supplies–this pump is compatible with the classic bottles, too!

GIVEAWAY: one lucky reader will win a gift basket of goodies from Philips AVENT, including natural bottles, pacifiers, and other essentials for moms and newborns! Please use the form below to enter–good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The post Philips AVENT Comfort Breast Pump & a giveaway appeared first on Baby Dickey | Chicago, IL Mom Blogger.

You should all know by now that I love NOVICA… I’ve shopped there numerous times and have written about them on my blog often. I’ve bought stuff for myself and my husband, for my mom, and even for my in-laws! Who says they’re hard to buy for?! Not with NOVICA

Mother’s Day is coming up–how many times have you reminded your husband already? I only have a couple of times, haha. Well NOVICA has us all set with some awesome pages set up for gift ideas. Check out their unique gifts for mom or maybe your mom (or you!) want some new jewelry? I love browsing NOVICA because everything is so beautiful, artistic, and unique. Plus, I love shopping there to support the artisans and their work.

It’s so hard for me to pick something when I shop at NOVICA, I want everything. We actually have some of those wine glasses pictured above and a beautiful handbag. This time, I went with the sculpture gifts for mom… and I decided to shop for myself Hey, I’m a mom too! So this is my mother’s day gift to myself! They have a few wooden sculptures I love with a mom and baby. I loooove this “Family Love” wood sculpture and can’t wait to add it to our home. I’m working on my childbirth educator certification and this will be a beautiful addition to my home office

What do you want this Mother’s Day? What are you doing for the mothers in your life? I have a super awesome gift idea for my mom, but it’s a secret for now because she reads my blog

GIVEAWAY: one lucky reader will win a $50 gift certificate to use on anything they’d like at NOVICA! Please use the form below to enter–giveaway ends May 15th. ((If you want to order for Mother’s Day, orders must be placed by May 4th!))

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The post NOVICA Mother's Day giveaway appeared first on Baby Dickey | Chicago, IL Mom Blogger.

We try our best to eat healthy and buy organic or shop local. I like making food for my kids — but I don’t always have the time or the produce and I look for healthy and easy alternatives. I recently received some sample packs from NurturMe and we’re loving them! They’re the first and only family with certified organic, dried fruit and veggie meals and snacks for infants and toddlers.

The NurturMe meals come in little pouches filled with dried fruit and veggies. All you have to do is pour one into a bowl and add some liquid… and you have a meal! GREAT for grabbing when you run out of the house or for a quick snack. I love that this meal option includes the addition of breastmilk. My 14 month old little girl is still nursing so I’m glad she still gets those nutrients even when eating a meal. You can also add milk or water to these pouches.

My 3-year-old MIGHT eat them (like he eats applesauce), but these dried fruit and veggies pouches are really nice because you can add the dried contents into your toddler’s meal to add nutrients. Sprinkle it on his cereal or pasta, add it to yogurt, or include it while you’re baking.

The fruits and veggies used by NurturMe are from US farms and the meals are certified organic, gluten free, non-GMO, and kosher with NO added preservatives, sugars, or salts. And? The packaging is BPA-free and made with recyclable materials that are made with wind energy.… awesome, right?

For the younger ones, there are pouches with single ingredients that make about 2.5oz of food: crisp apples, crunchy carrots, hearty sweet potatoes, plump peas, protein-packed quinoa, scrumptious squash, and sweet bananas.

For the older ones, the pouches have a blend of ingredients that make about 4oz of food: squash, bananas, and green kale; sweet potatoes, oatmeal, and bananas; peas, quinoa, and apples; and carrots, raisins, and sweet potatoes.

She likes it!

You can get these for $1.19 per single ingredient pouch or $1.49 for the multi-ingredient blend pouches. NurturMe also makes Yum-a-Roo’s organic dry fruit and veggie snacks. Each pouch has 1.5 servings of fruits and veggies and has bite-size snacks that easily dissolve in the mouth–we’ll have to try these next!

Pictured above are NurturMe co-founders Caroline Freedman and Lauren McCullough. You can buy NurturMe products on their website and make sure you find them on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest!

The post NurturMe: organic baby food appeared first on Baby Dickey | Chicago, IL Mom Blogger.

When I was in 6th grade, a fellow classmate and friend was diagnosed with cancer. She missed a lot of school and I remember that our classroom set up a video chat with her while she was in the hospital. I also remember that she was granted a wish from the Make-A-Wish® foundation. 

The Make-A-Wish foundation has been around for 0ver 30 years, granting life-changing wishes for children with life-threatening medical conditions. These wishes give children something to look forward to, an exciting moment in their life to help them to feel better and sometimes even help them to get better. Parents say the experiences strengthen the whole family and the children say it gives them renewed strength to fight–I can’t imagine a better gift.

I remember my 6th grade classmate trying to decide between meeting Rosie O’ Donnell or swimming with dolphins for her wish. She opted for the dolphins and Make-A-Wish flew her down to Florida to make her dreams come true. I’m extremely happy to say she survived her childhood cancer and is doing wonderfully today.

Like my classmate’s wish, nearly 75% of all wishes require air travel. Last year alone Make-A-Wish fulfilled almost 14,000 dreams that required 50,000 airline tickets… that’s equal to 2.5 billion airlines miles or $37.5 million. Needless to say, Make-A-Wish would really appreciate support in granting these wishes and changing lives.

I encourage you to make a difference in the life of a child and donate your airline miles or dollars at Make-A-Wish. TODAY, April 29th, is World Wish Day.

Make-A-Wish is one of the nation’s leading children’s charities, serving children in every community in the United States and its territories. With the help of generous donors and more than 25,000 volunteers, Make-A-Wish grants a wish somewhere in the country every 38 minutes. It has granted more than 226,000 wishes in the U.S. since its inception in 1980; nearly 14,000 in 2012 alone.

This year, 10,000 wish kids and their families will travel for a Make-A-Wish® experience. That’s 50,000 roundtrip tickets or 2.5 billion frequent flier miles. In honor of World Wish Day®, the day of the wish that inspired the founding of Make-A-Wish, visit wish.org/tickets and donate miles and dollars – and help wish kids take flight.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Make-A-Wish®. The opinions and text are all mine.

The post Make-A-Wish, change a life appeared first on Baby Dickey | Chicago, IL Mom Blogger.