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Chicco Liteway Stroller Review

2012-04-14T19:01:00.005-07:00

Photo Via

I recently purchased the red and grey "Fuego" Chicco Liteway Stroller. I thought that since I'm a new mother I would take the time to write a review for this product and share it with you all- because if you are like me, you want to buy quality items for your little darling.

I found the following description on the Chicco website about the LIteway stroller:

-Lightweight, aluminum frame and compact 3-D fold

-Hide-away boot for enclosing infants when reclined

-Rear-wheel suspension with precision swivel front wheels let you take it anywhere

-Padded five-point harness and multi-position reclining seat keep your child safe and comfortable

-Detachable storage basket converts to sling tote for carrying baby's things

-Adjustable canopy with peek-a-boo window

-Parent cupholder

-Automatic storage latch

-For use from birth to 40 lbs

I have used this stroller quite a bit since I purchased it on February 7th of this year. I have used it while shopping, quick trips in and out of places while running errands, at the airport (many times), the park, car shopping, the library. In other words- we've used it to do the everyday things that you would need a stroller for. I've also used it in the rain, heavy wind, and on super sunny days.

Here is what I think about it. I LOVE it. In fact, I think a better description of how I feel about this stroller would be infatuation. It IS super light, easy to open and close with my baby boy on my hip, and small enough to push through the tightest of aisles in some of my favorite places. Also, I love how it will easily fit in a dressing room. This stroller makes my life 100% easier with baby in tow. On a side note- I drive a tall SUV and can pick this stroller up when it is closed and locked by the handle and place it inside with little effort. That's a huge plus!

I found all of the descriptions that Chicco listed to be accurate. I also found one unexpectedly splendid feature. The non-connected handles (Not sure about the correct terminology there). When you looking at the picture you can see that the handles are independent of one another. I really didn't see any perks for that at first but now after using it so much I totally do! You can hang your shopping bags on them!!!! And guess what... while the baby is in the seat (not so much when you take your little one out) the stroller doesn't tip over. I also find that there is plenty of room for a small to medium sized diaper bag underneath.

Another nice feature is the canopy. It extends a great deal further than you see in the picture above. It offers great coverage and protection from all types of weather. It also can be removed if necessary.

The storage basket does convert (can be taken off) into a carrying backpack. I honestly haven't needed to use this feature- but it does offer it.

Okay so now, the only con that I found with this stroller... It is difficult to describe so bare with me.

the foot rest area of the canvas is adjustable for small children (like under a year old would need this feature). However, while it is easy to adjust , the canvas sometime can slip off of the bars that make it adjustable. Its an easy fix by just slipping the canvas back over the little bars.. however, I wanted to have full disclosure here. This really doesn't bother me but I can see how it might bother others.

So there you have it. If you have any other questions about it, send them my way! Here is the amazon link if you're interested in reading more about it or purchasing one for your little darling!

Chicco Liteway Stroller at Amazon.com

* I have not been paid to write this review and purchased this product with my own hard earned nickels and dimes. :)

Goodnight Friends!

-M

TGIF

2012-04-13T19:55:00.003-07:00

It's that time again! I can't believe it is Friday once again. Well, here is my week in review. I'm linking up with Lauren over at My Grey Desk blog. Here we go...

1. I ordered a Mia Clarisonic after reading Kate from The Small Things Blog review of hers. I have been looking at buying a product like this for a while but had not known anyone that had one. Her review of the product totally sold me on it and before I knew it I was on the Ulta website buying one. I bought the turquoise little cutie! So excited to get it and try it out. After having T, my skin is just not what it once was... I'll let you know what I think!

2. We've been having some lovely weather here where I am... and I am enjoying it! Now if only the stinking mosquitos would leave me alone!

3. This past week I tried pilates for the first time! I am in Love. Oh my goodness. Where has it been all my life? I want to go back. I just can't wait for the next class. I like it better than yoga- that's just my opinion though.

4. I finally filed my taxes! I had been ~~procrastinating~~ busy- and just decided to sit down and get it over with. Last year me and the hubby had to pay Uncle Sam a pretty penny. You can imagine the relief I felt upon discovering that this year we will actually get a small refund. And THAT is WONDERFUL news.

5. I booked tickets! Where? NEW YORK CITY! Oh my goodness. I am SO excited! I am going in June with two of my sister-in-laws. How fun! I've never been to NYC so I've been doing lots of research to figure out what we are going to do. I want it to be perfect! My plan is to decide in the next 60 days what I will wear.. with what amazingly adorable hairstyle and on which day. I want to pretend to be a real LIVE New Yorker.. Carrie Bradshaw style (minus the whole men thing) for one entire week. These are the things my dreams are made of people. Did I mention that I'm going sans baby? Uhhh, that's going to be the hard part. But, I'll be preparing myself for that until it gets here. More to come on all this later!

Alright! I hope you all had a fabulous week!

Happy Friday Friends!

-M

Easter

2012-04-10T20:39:00.001-07:00

Well, I can't believe Easter has come and gone! While it was definitely difficult to celebrate such a wonderful holiday without my hubby, I did have this little guy to share it with. It was fun getting his little basket together. We wanted something simple. Something that was meaningful. I think we did just that.

We went with a basket that my mother-in-law has had since my hubby was little. It reminds me of the one I had as a child. We added the blue gingham ribbon that we received on a present that T's Great Aunt from England sent over in December. The little eggs are papier mache and were given to us by his two aunts to add in his basket. They are adorable and made the perfect addition. I just love the sweet little rabbit- It was a Hallmark find, and of course I HAD to include two little books from one of my favorite children's authors/illustrators- ERIC CARLE!

You can find the Bunny on Amazon - HERE
Eric Carle's "My Very First Book of Shapes"- HERE
Eric Carle's "My Very First Book of Colors"- HERE

And while I couldn't find the papier mache eggs that were gifted to us... I did find this lovely site that offers a How-To. It looks like a fun project to do with your little one - and oh so cute as well!

Before I had T I was a Kindergarten teacher. I LOVED it. I'm loving being a stay at mommy right now though and feel that this is where I'm meant to be. In case you were wondering... He loved his little basket!

The rest of Easter weekend was spent with family. Laughing. Having a grand ol' time! Precious memories!

What did the Easter Bunny bring your little one?

Happy Tuesday Friends!

-M

Coffee Mug Swap!

2012-04-06T12:55:00.002-07:00

Time to do my first swap! I'm joining in on the Coffee Mug Swap over at Suzel Says! It sounds like so much fun and a great way to meet fellow bloggers. Clink the link if you want to join in! Can't wait to meet my swap partner...

Wrist Love

2012-04-06T08:43:00.002-07:00

One of my Latest Wrist Loves...

I found these two cuties at LOFT

I like how they are both neutrals. I see LOTs of potential in these two beauties. Also, I was able to get both of them for under $10.00 a piece.. which if you know LOFT, that is a steal!

I can see going sans ribbon, or even changing it to a different color at times. What do you think?

Happy Friday!

-M

TGIF

2012-04-06T08:30:00.000-07:00

TGIF!!!! And a GOOD FRIDAY it is...

Linking up with From My Grey Desk. If you haven't seen her blog- you should. Super cute! It's one of my fave's . Also she has a sister that blog's too at The Little Things Blog. Check them out!

Once again... 5 reasons I'm oh-so-happy it's Friday!

1. This weekend we are going to be able to spend some time with family. I just love watching T with his aunties and grandparents! I do wish he was able to see more of our family members.. but for now, we'll take what we can get!

2. One day closer to my hubby being home from that far away place called - The Middle East. Can not wait to have him home... for good hopefully!

3. Easter weekend! Love celebrating our Lord and this is a great time to do that! Also, I'm really excited about T's first Easter.. even if his Daddy isn't here to celebrate with us. Still not sure whether or not he will be able to take pictures with an Easter Bunny. We did capture this cutie while at the Daffodil farm recently!

4. Sitting outside.. Ah, how I do love the spring! So ready to be out on that porch feeling the wind on my face watching T play. He LOVES watching the birds and other wildlife. So so sweet.

5. Going to look at houses. Just to look. Every weekend where I am, local realtors open up new houses for the public to look through! Ahhh, it's one of my favorite parts of the weekend. It's a great way to get ideas for our own home.

Alright, there are my five... where are yours?

Happy Good Friday friends!

-M

My Promise to ME!

2012-04-05T09:16:00.000-07:00

Over the past few months I've been devouring reading material about living a healthier life, limiting stress, and all that good stuff. At first I thought "oh, this will be simple to learn about". Well, not so much. There are SO many different opinions about the subject... like Oodles and Oodles. I am finding that I have to take what I'm learning and find a way to personalize it all so that it meets my needs and lifestyle in a reasonable manner. While I plan to speak more about this is the future- especially as I figure it out, I want to start this out by making a new promise to myself.

I take promises to myself VERY seriously. I do not go back on a promise to myself and rarely make them because I know how difficult it can be to keep them. In our culture, most people make promises to themselves at the beginning of each year. However, come January 15th, these promises have long since been forgotten. I think the reason for that is this: those promises are UNREALISTIC and almost impossible to work into their daily lives. If that is not you... Congratulations! It's difficult to keep promises to yourself - right? This year I made several promises to myself around the new year.. as I do every year. However, I make a concerted effort to make sure they are attainable. Here are a few.

Photo Via

1. Floss Daily.
Okay, some might think- "What? That's ridiculous". Okay, a little story. Every time I go to the dentist, the hygienist will ask me how often I floss. I think she already knows the answer and just wants to make me admit it out loud... like I was really going to say "um, when things are stuck in my teeth". So this time during my check up in November (November 9th to be exact) I made a PROMISE to myself to do what ever I could to floss daily. Well, It's April 5th and I think I have missed a total of MAYBE 5 days! YAY!. Now it's getting to the point where I can't stand not to floss.. crazy!.. ok so moving on!

2. Be a better person. This one speaks for itself. I do not feel like I'm a bad person but there are definitely areas that could use some improvement.

Ok, I just love the look on T's face. He was going through
a very serious phase. So glad we captured that!

3. Get better with my pictures. I'll keep this explanation simple. We have lived in our home for nearly 4 years and there might be 4 pictures in frames around the house. I'm really GOOD at making sure I take pictures, but BAD at having them printed, framed, and hung. So, I made a promise to myself to get better at this. So far, I'm doing MUCH better with this. We even had a family picture taken.. It was the first professionally one we had done.

So, that's where my NEW promise to myself comes into play.

I promise... to live healthier.

That promise is an all encompassing one. To walk more. To exercise more. To eat better. To get in touch with my inner peace (how ever you do that! HA!). To let myself feel OK with where I am physically but strive for better. To really take advantage of my youth.

Now, this is not a promise to lose 20 pounds. To starve myself. To not let myself enjoy things that make this life worth living. It's just to do the things I mentioned above. Maybe as time goes on I'll add to it. But for now, that is my NEW promise to myself. And I'm REALLY excited about it. I think I deserve it!

My question for you: Do you ever make promises to yourself? What kind? Do you keep them?

Have a great thursday friends!

-M

To Each His Own

2012-04-04T18:58:00.001-07:00

Well, I can't believe my sweet husband is gone again. It's the hardest thing- saying "Goodbye". A huge part of me wanted to scream "No! Don't go, let's run away together!"or maybe even just lay down on the ground kicking and screaming! Then I realized either option wouldn't make anything better at all. My husband and I have been together almost 9 years and married 5 of them. Best years of my life yet.

Marriage and Love are two of the most wonderful and surprising pieces of this life if you are able and/or want to have them. Growing up you hear and see many different ideals about the way those two things should be handled and manipulated in order to make them things that serve your own purpose. We have found that trying to make our marriage and love fit society's definitions of Love and Marriage just doesn't work for us.

We decided a long time ago, like before we were officially and item, that we wanted to let this relationship be real. Be true. No games. We decided that if we were going to try this thing out that we were both going to give it everything we had. Both of us had been in failed relationships that just seemed so wrong on many levels. So, when we met each other we were both in places that allowed us to be real with one another. SO glad about that.

Of course, as many know, this is the true beauty of relationships. To each his own. In my opinion, no truer words have been spoken about love- or anything for that matter. And while we live our love one way, that doesn't mean there aren't a million other ways to make it work. We have just found a rhythm that works for us.

As we grow in our love for each other, we find that there are so many more dimensions to love than either of us ever expected or even thought to think about. It's more than just that ga-ga, head over heals, can't get enough of you stuff. And thankfully it is! There are times when yes... I've had enough of him. Need room to breath. Think. Have time to myself. I can assure you- my hubby, how ever sweet he may be, at times feels the same. So, there must be more dimensions to fill in those gaps right? Let's hope so!

We have found that these other dimensions of love are those gap fillers. Maybe you one could argue that they are even more of a foundation of love. Because really, that ga-ga stuff is more like the icing on the cake to me now. When I was younger, all I dreamed about was those things... I had no idea how much I would come to appreciate and desire these other pieces of Love.

When I need me time, my sweet hubby is all to happy to oblige and lets me have it and vice versa.The same goes for supporting one another- even if that means temporarily or permanently putting your own desires on the back burner at times.

Then there is that "support clause" that some don't realize they agreed to on their wedding day... I swear it's snuck somewhere in between "I promise to love, cherish, (support your feelings, needs, desires,and give it my wholehearted- best try to make sure to help you achieve your dreams), and honor you". See it's there. I promise.

Often times, I hear people complaining about their spouses dreams, needs or wants. "Oh, he thinks he wants to go back to school". Then they just blow them off. Well, to us that is a part of the commitment. The commitment part is not just an "I'll love you and only you" commitment. It's so multi-dimensional! ( Okay, I know you get it) I hope and plan to spend the rest of my life doing my best to fulfill my true commitment to my husband.

That commitment is to Love him, honor him in all I do (take a second to think about that- cause it's a biggie!) , support his dreams and needs, offer guidance when needed, accept his help, work as a team, listen, speak, and be okay with asking him to return that commitment to me. It can be difficult as a military wife. We are apart quite often. So, if we fail to recognize, explore, and celebrate the different dimensions of our Love- then we will have failed each other. And that is not something I'm willing to do.

All of this has been weighing heavily on my mind lately. Commitment, sacrifice, supporting one another, etc. I truly feel like the past 9 years have been so crazy and wonderful all at the same time. However, the one thing that stays constant is my commitment to this love and this marriage. Every time I watch him walk away I thank the Lord for letting me experience those other pieces of Love so that I don't feel so lost when he leaves - because I have those things to fill in the gaps.

I'm excited to see it all grow and flourish, each day is a new one bringing us more gifts and enlightenment. These things are even more important now with the addition of our little boy. I hope and pray that I can teach him what it took me so long to figure out on my own.

When I started out this post, it was going in a complete different direction. I guess you go where ever you are moved to.. and thats the best place to be. Hopefully some of you that read this will understand what I meant with all this.

My question for you: Do you experience different dimensions of love in your marriage or relationship? How has being in a committed relationship met or not met your expectations?

Here's to a wonderful night's sleep (crossing my fingers)....

-M

TGIF

2012-03-16T11:21:00.003-07:00

Little T

TGIF!!

Five Reason's i'm SO happy it's Friday!

1. This sweet little boy! He makes every day a wonderful one. No matter how tired or stressed I am, ONE look or smile from him and I am loving life all over.

2. My sweet sweet husband is on his way back from his deployment to the middle east as I type! We will get to see him in just a few short hours! It will be the first time he has seen T since early November. He will be on R&R leave for two whole weeks! YAY!

3. I think my Birchbox will be arriving today! It's my first one since I signed up and I am so stoked! I was on the waiting list for what seemed like forever! If you don't know about Birchbox yet, follow my link and check it out!

4. Good hair AND make-up day! This is a good thing considering I haven't seen my husband in a while and I was really wanting to look my best for him! Usually on days that I really want both to work out.. they don't.

5. Tonight I do not have to snuggle with my pillow! There will be a real, live, warm husband to do that with!

I've linked this post to From My Grey Desk Blog on her "High Five for Friday" page. If you haven't been over there you should! So cute!

Happy Friday Friends!

-M

My sweet husband and our son T at 4 weeks old!

Consignment Sale

2012-03-15T18:41:00.001-07:00

So, I went to a consignment sale today! Very Exciting. When I was pregnant, I really didn't give much thought to where I would go to buy my little darling his toys, clothing, and other goodies. However, shortly after having him, my aunt took me to a consignment sale and I was completely blown away by the prices and quality of the items that were for sale. The sale I went to is held twice a year. While I think that there are some items that I personally would shy away from buying second hand, there are SO many other things that it just makes sense to buy at such places. For example, I bought T a Leap Frog Learn and Groove musical table like the one seen here. It retails on Amazon for $33.49 and I paid only $12.00!!! YAY! The one I bought was in great shape, barely any wear and tear... if any. So definitely a great buy! I also bought him a Move & Crawl ball like the one seen here which retails for $18.89 for only $7.00 ! Another great buy. I just can't believe the deals I was able to find today. I did purchase about 12-15 outfits for him, all of which were quality items, all for less than $5 each. Pretty exciting stuff! I am one who believes that children do not need a room FULL of toys to be happy. So, I tried to pick out a few things I thought would really be great for where he is at now. I bought several other goodies for T, but I'll write more about those later. I'm ALL about saving my pennies where I can and love finding such hidden gems. My question for you: What do you do to save money when it comes to raising your babies?

-M

Here We Go....

2012-03-14T19:55:00.003-07:00

I'm finally doing it. Creating a BLOG! AHhhh! I've thought about this for some time and I decided that today is the day to jump into the crazy world that is Blogging. I read MANY blogs daily and find that I go back and forth from one to another, loving bits and pieces of all of them. However, I need a place where I can express myself and hopefully inspire and learn from others as well. My name is Megan. I am in my late twenties, a Teacher, Christian, Veteran, DIYer, who is IN LOVE with life. In addition, I'm a mother of one beautiful little boy we'll call T. and the proud wife of one Army Pilot Hunk we'll call Billy.

I've decided that for now.. this Blog will be my (My hubby of course knows) little secret with you. I feel this way I can really express myself until I gain more confidence in myself and in my Blogging abilities.

Personally, I am very passionate about learning. I just adore learning something new and have so much to learn. For this very reason I decided that there must be others out there like me who are interested in LOTs of things. I want this to be a place that serves those interests. I'm SO excited to start this. Like, jump out of my socks excited because I know that I am about to begin a journey that will teach me more than I could ever hope to teach or share with others.

If, you are like me, then I really hope this is a place where you can come and just enjoy yourself (as soon as I start adding content anyways). When I put my sweet 7 month old to sleep at night, my time begins. I want that to be my time with you all! How exciting, it will be like Girls Night Out- when ever we want. Or at least- I hope !

Disclaimer: although I am a Teacher, I can not promise that this blog will be perfectly correct grammatically. I am an imperfect person. I accept that about myself and hope you will too. Also, I prefer Blogs that read like I imagine the writer actually speaks.

So....Let's get this party started!
-Megan