My last post was poking fun at the decorating/organizing blogs popping up on the Internet, but truthfully I LOVE those blogs. They give me crafty hope and they are a bit like organization porn, a guilty pleasure because I’m sure I should be doing something else with the time I spend contemplating minutiae projects (my term), projects like painting drawer knobs or cutting out chalkboard labels.

My new favorite blog and the one I actually read on a regular basis is i heart organizing. I used to do a mommy blogger spotlight, but, let’s be honest, I have two kids and can’t spend my time reading scores of blogs, which is why I’ll only mention here and there any I truly can’t live without. I’m a little obsessed with i heart organizing, maybe because the projects seem manageable or because the posts are usually short and heavy on pictures or because I’m a sucker for stripes and chevrons. Yes, these particular decorative touches are cliches, even Target carries a chevron line, but they are bright and simple and make me happy.

i heart organizing is a blogger framework at blogspot domain, but has like a zillion followers. Jen, the author, recently posted links to other blogs about organization and I had to stop myself from clicking on all of them. I’m obsessed in the way a person who really can’t sing imagines winning American Idol (or maybe The Voice is a more culturally relevant reference…I don’t watch either). I can’t sew, paint, even glue a straight line on a bin labeled “crafts,” but I like to watch other people make their homes pretty and neat. I tell Dave I am the Idea Woman, so maybe I can come up with crafty projects and commission others to do them for me. Oh wait, that’s called Etsy.

I’m pretty sure my penchant for home organization is a phase. I actually don’t get much joy from crafts. I like to look at the finished project, but when I’m painting or laminating or shopping at the craft store, I’m really thinking “when can this thing just be done already.” I told Dave at lunch today that I discovered why I’m suddenly obsessed with organization. I explained that I hope it will save me time in the long run and that if I’m stuck in the house for most of the day, I want to look at pretty things. And when Amelia ransacks our home, I’d like to at least know everything has a place. Dave listened to me babble on about my self-diagnosed neurosis and when I finally paused, said “I just assumed it was a control thing.” Yeah, that too. Here is a picture of a minor craft that took me way too long.

Try and ignore the slightly racist letter "I"

Before you get too impressed, all I did was find the prints of vintage flashcards on Etsy, order them, go to Staples and have them print and laminate them, cut them out, affix removable sticky squares to the back, and position them ever so exactly above Amelia’s toy cubbies. Of course, Amelia promptly started to rip them off the wall. I should have foreseen that as I walked back and forth to Staples.  I do crafty like Sandra Lee does cooking.

Picture from www.seejanework.com

That is perhaps the most unnecessary blog title for a Stuff I Love. But what makes me salivate with envy? What do I want more than a pair of new shoes or a new bag or a trip to the spa? That’s right, office supplies. And I don’t even have an office. We do have an IKEA desk crammed in the corner of our bedroom that houses a computer Dave built and some podcasting equipment, as well as neatly labeled Michael’s baskets. I’d show you a picture, but it’s not really that cute, which is why I love love love, or I think I love love love because I’ve never purchased anything from this company, See Jane Work.

I’m a stay at home mom, not a work at home or work outside the home or work out of home or whatever the phrase might be. I don’t bring in an income from the home (but I do of course save us money by taking care of our children, which is why I sometimes say I work in childcare). In other words, I don’t really need office supplies on a regular basis. However, I have found myself at Staples a lot lately. I knew I had reached rock bottom when my heart sank after driving to our local Staples only to discover they weren’t carrying the Martha Stewart organization line. And then I had to look in the mirror and figure out what happened to the old Meredith who had no intentional interest in anything by Martha Stewart. Well, that Meredith is gone and the new Meredith has moved beyond Martha to Jane. Jane’s tag line is “A true love story, an amazing story of love at first sight, when style and organization finally meet.” I’d be rolling my eyes if I wasn’t too busy salivating.

As I said, I haven’t yet purchased anything from them, mostly because I see too much I want and can’t find a way to justify lollipop notebooks right now. That said, if I were given unlimited funds, I’d snatch up the Forget Me Not door tags for Dave (sorry Dave) or the How I Feel Playtime Pad for an older Amelia, or any of the adorable notebooks. In the meantime, I browse the website once and a while as I slowly make the transition into OCD, etsyfied, Californian, hippiedom, Martha Stewartish motherhood.

ModestMomz Sadie Cover

Are you a Hooter Hider? Do you Cover your Udders? Or have you gone Bebe Au Lait (no clever, slightly insulting pun with that brand)? I myself was a Hooter Hider gal at one point, but found myself using the Hider to shield baby Amelia from the sun rather than hide my supposed naughty bits. However, I’m still not comfortable nursing in public sans some sort of boob shield. The annoyingly named nursing covers on the market always seemed to act as billboards for MOM NURSING. I don’t have a problem breastfeeding when others are around, but I want to be covered, mostly because people get so uncomfortable that I’m made uncomfortable by their inability to look in my direction or hold a conversation with me.

A long time ago, I stumbled across something called the ModestMomz 5 in 1 Nursing Poncho. At 40 bucks, this poncho cost at least 3x the average nursing cover, so I had a hard time justifying its purchase, but a hard time isn’t an impossible time and I’m the Queen of online impulse buys, so I bought it.

I have loved this nursing cover. I’m sewing challenged, so if you are crafty you could probably make your own for much cheaper, but I can’t, so I didn’t. And I will say I get tons of compliments on this cover (by other bfing moms of course).

Why do I proclaim the ModestMomz the best nursing cover ever? It covers my back, a major plus. It doesn’t look like a typical nursing cover, therefore preventing the Hooter Hider nursing billboard effect. It is soft enough to act as a blanket for Henry when I forget a blanket (which is all the time). And it still covers the car seat when I need some extra shade or privacy for my babe, the only aspect of the other covers I actually liked. The ModestMomz website also claims it is a fashion accessory. It’s cute enough, but I’m not sure I’d go that far. At least I’m not embarrassed when I wear mine. I own the “Sadie,” the light cream colored version, and it has wonderfully hidden all the spit up stains a newborn likes to leave around. Henry is almost three months. I think that means he is no longer a newborn. Either way, he spits up like a champ.

To non-nursing mothers (or to the moms who bare all), obsessing over a nursing cover probably seems a bit silly, but I feed this kid every two hours, so nursing is a time consuming part of my life. I’m willing to pay for a simple product that makes me less self-conscious and more comfortable when taking my clothes off in public, an act I never thought I’d do so much without the influence of wine.

I’m reviving Stuff I Love because now that Amelia is officially a toddler (no longer a pre-toddler), I’m discovering a whole new crop of essentials. Enter into this category the Door Monkey as a tool to stop toddler entering. We have four of them, that’s how much I love this gem. With two kids, I can’t spend my time chasing Amelia around the house, so we child-proofed like crazy (seriously, like crazy…I went a little overboard when pregnant).

I need to know the house is safe and let her explore and play and occasionally (every two hours) leave me in peace to breastfeed without worrying she is unrolling all the toilet paper, again, or chowing down on Kaiya’s cuisine. We bought a bulky door lock thingy that was a pain to attach permanently to the guest bathroom after A discovered the joy of trying to empty her cloth diaper pail, but we have other rooms in the house that we’d like to keep temporarily off limits without messing with permanent screws and sticky tape. The Door Monkey was created by a parenting genius just for this purpose. We even keep one next to the portable timer as an easy time-out solution; we put Amelia in her room and quickly attach the Door Monkey to her door for the two minute don’t hit your brother or mommy time (she usually plays and has started putting herself in timeout by standing next to the wall. I’m guessing she learned this in daycare and for that I am thankful.) Still, the Door Monkey is helpful in keeping Amelia out of Henry’s room when he is napping; I should probably mention she can open all the doors in the house, hence the need for these Monkeys.

This lock leaves a little gap, good for airing out the laundry room without allowing her in to eat the dog food. My only complaint is that the lock doesn’t fit the doors in my parents’ house. I assume this is because their house is from 1947. I don’t know, but I’m pretty sure the portable locks fit most doors. Amelia hasn’t figured them out and I put them high enough (you can put it where you want) that there really is no way for her to get past the Monkey. They cost about 13 dollars each, but I’d have paid much much much more for the number of “No. Don’t go in there”s left unuttered.

Have you heard of Justin Roberts? If you answered yes to this question you must have a toddler or perhaps just G rated taste in music. I’m bringing back my Stuff I Love posts and am starting with a music selection. As much as I wish to be the type of person who doesn’t buy stuff and could live in the woods without anything other than a stick to amuse myself and my child, I’m not that type of mom. Therefore, I have a long backlog of stuff I love, most of which is courtesy of the Amazon prime subscription Dave insists he will never get again because I order way too much, but this selection is actually an iTunes find (also an easy online addiction).

I’ve only purchased a handful of specific toddler/baby albums for Amelia. When she was really little, I would play whatever music I liked, but as she gets older and seems to understand more language, I’ve decided to increase our toddler specific music collection. I can only listen to The Beatles so many times and I’m discovering Arcade Fire or Phoenix just aren’t super appropriate or dance-able. Oh, and if I have to listen to a musical version of a nursery rhyme one more time, I’m going to have my own great fall from which I will never be put back together.

Since I research everything, I spent over an hour in the iTunes library listening to toddler tune samples and reading reviews. Nothing really appealed to me, so I finally gave up and bought the album with a million great reviews: Meltdown! This is a 2006 album by nominated for a lot of awards singer-songwriter Justin Roberts. I’ve since purchased his most recent album as well. I like the new album, but Meltdown! is still a fave. It’s not necessarily the type of music to which I’d drink a Pabst Blue Ribbon (pretending I like it) in a Boston club, but it sure beats a lot of the other stuff marketed to kids. I find myself dancing along with Amelia when I play the music during lunch, and I’ve listened to it at least two dozen times at this point without going crazy. As far as I’m concerned, that’s a ringing endorsement.

Again, anyone who is more experienced at this toddler raising thing will surely have heard of this guy, but Amelia is just entering the toddler world. The songs are catchy, have clever lyrics, and don’t make you feel like you have erased your entire adult musical identity. I’m starting to realize writing children’s music is an art form that doesn’t get enough credit. Anyone can write a mopey emo lyric, but only a true artist can appeal to both children and their parents. On that note (pun intended), if anyone else has other albums they would recommend, let me know. Meltdown! is great, but no album can be repeated infinitely.

image from www.thelaundress.com

I love love love (enough loves for you, love?) The Laundress. I discovered this yummy smelly detergent right before my wedding in 2009. When I went to a speciality bra shop, searching for the perfect strapless bra that never existed, the posh clerk kindly asked me if I needed any detergent for my delicates. I thanked her and said “Nah, I have a ton of Woolite at home.” She looked like she was going to throw up in her perfectly painted mouth. She calmly and sternly replied “Woolite can ruin bras by disintegrating the elastic over time.” Huh. I had no idea.

She recommended an expensive alternative called The Laundress. I picked up the Delicate Wash in the Lady scent, thinking I had been suckered into an unnecessary purchase outside my means (16 ounces cost 19 dollars), but as soon as I hand-washed my lovely lady undergarments in this magical cream detergent, I was in love. Besides smelling great, it is non-toxic, biodegradable, and allergen free, a necessity for someone like me who has freakishly sensitive skin.

I wanted to wash all our clothes in it, but I practiced budget restraint and reserved it for hand-washables and the occasional sheet set, restraint that managed to prolong that bottle’s life until last week. I couldn’t find the Delicate Wash in the local stores and picked up the Baby Wash as a replacement, which smells okay, but does not match the pure bliss I got from the lovely Lady.

A quick check of their website shows a whole range of products I didn’t know existed. They have regular detergent, whites and darks detergent, baby wash, delicate wash, wool and cashmere detergent, swimware care, denim wash, and more, not to mention the cleaning products they sell. I must say the sheer breadth of detergents they have managed to create reveals a certain marketing genius. I can’t imagine one needs separate denim detergent, but since I loved their Delicate Wash so much, I’m willing to believe anything they make is fab.

I also think whoever designed their packaging deserves a marketing award. They’ve made cleaning products look super chic. This is the only detergent line I’m actually considering as a future baby shower or bridal shower gift. I can’t imagine The Laundress is on a lot of registries, so it would be a nice unique and useful gift. Writing this post (and smelling my not so lovely scented dog next to me) has convinced me I need to go online and buy some more of that Delicate Wash and maybe even try out some of the other detergents. This is a smell luxury my nose (and bra elastic) deserves.

This week’s Stuff I Love is another yuppie mom find. Yes, I’m a “yuppie mom.” In case you haven’t heard, this is the not so new mommy slam supplanting “hipster” as the ultimate cultural critique. What did you expect? I live in San Diego, cloth diaper, and blog. I’m embracing this yuppie mom label and offering a reusable bag find to stay on theme. Oh, and did you note the hint of irony in that intro? Irony is so yuppie mom and pointing out that irony is even more yuppie mom; wait, I’m confusing yuppie moms and hipsters. Anyway, I think I’m going to coin the abbreviation YUM from here on out.

My YUM find is for storing your yummy healthy treats without having to buy those stupid plastic sandwich bags anymore. At a recent playdate I pulled out a Velcro bag housing my daughter’s non-organic Cheerios and another mom asked where I had found it. I then realized not every mom shops at the totally awesome online store reuseit.com.

Everyone and their mother has reusable grocery bags, but sandwich and snack bags are a little more difficult to find in the average grocery store. I bought ours (we have four) three years ago, before baby. Dave was skeptical and wasn’t convinced $8.95 plus shipping for one little bag was worth the money. Now, reusable bags are such a part of his psyche, he gets confused when I buy the occasional box of zip-lock bags for things like storing left over onion pieces, etc.. (I probably could get around that as well, but sometimes my reusable imagination takes a break).

We bought a couple different kinds of bags, but my favorite has been the reuseit (former Acme) brand bags. They are made in the USA, come in four different colors and two different sizes (sandwich and snack), clean easily, and take a beating. They are made from lightweight nylon and look like they will last for years to come.

Still not convinced? The website says ”reuseit.com products are made from sustainable, high-performance materials and in accordance with fair labor / fair wage practices. Each one is also backed by a 100% Lifetime Guarantee against defects in materials or construction.” Ah, so it’s an ethical reusable bag. I’ll admit I didn’t notice the Lifetime Guarantee or the sustainability or the fair wage fine print, but now I feel even better about buying overpriced sandwich bags. I haven’t added up how much money we’ve saved so far, but I imagine its not insignificant.

The only downside of reuseit bags? You might get mad at your husband (then fiance) when he loses his sandwich bag. This only happened once, but I’ve never forgotten it. Wait, did he lose it or did I? Hmmm. I might owe someone a three year old apology. Either way, plastic sandwich bags are so 20th century. They belong next to the VHS tapes, Compact Discs, and Blockbuster memberships of yesteryear. Bring on the new nylon.

This week’s Stuff I Love is about the one magazine to which I still subscribe on purpose. The Internet has made monthly advertisement packed glossy paper wasting magazines superfluous. Even my beloved Real Simple didn’t get my renewal notice. However, despite my decision to shun paper periodicals, I still eagerly await one magazine: Clean Eating.

I’m not a foodie. I’m not a health nut. But I do like to eat good food and I like it to be not horrible for me. Clean Eating was a last minute add on to a thoughtful bridal shower gift from my maid of honor back in 2009. She got me a breakfast in bed set up with some magazines for gift garnish. I had never heard of Clean Eating, and I don’t think she had either, but when I perused it a few weeks after the wedding, I realized it was pretty awesome.

Admittedly, I was initially turned off my the kinda annoying name. I expected a lot of tofu recipes or vegan fare, not that I universally dislike tofu or vegan meals, but I don’t want to eat them all the time. Their website defines the term “clean eating” as “consuming whole food in its most natural state, or as close to it as possible.” I like that definition. After all, I’m one of the hordes of yuppies who enjoyed The Omnivore’s Dilemma.

Although Clean Eating does include the occasional meatless and tofu dish, it really shines as a magazine with simple, yummy, mostly healthy recipes, meat and all. They also provide a two week meal plan for the truly lazy or food OCD. I don’t follow the meal plans, but I do clip out at least five or six recipes from every issue and add them to my recipe binder.

I’m allergic to difficult recipes. I’m also allergic to easy recipes that rely on a lot of processed pre-ingredients or boxed foods. The Clean Eating dishes find a happy middle ground. For example, one of our regular family meals is a simple dish of sauteed chicken atop a bed of fresh spinach, warm baked sweet potato fries, and cooked onion, with a little lemon or lime juice for flavor, a surprisingly light and satisfying, and most importantly, easy meal.

Clean Eating’s website is nice, but I prefer the hard copy as something to flip through, hand on my chin, Amelia at her play kitchen, Dave slaving over a hot stove (I can dream, right?). I like not having to search for anything, not having to type in any key words or click on links. All I have to do is turn one page after the other and look at the pictures of mouthwatering “clean” meals that someone like me, a kitchen disaster, can cook.

Despite The Riley Library, Amelia has little interest in books. Maybe that isn’t true. She has little interest in turning pages or looking at pictures, but she loves eating or ripping apart the pages. I’ve decided she is a literary late bloomer, but to help her journey, I purchased The Cheerios Animal Play Book by Lee Wade.

Each page has pictures of animals doing typical and not so typical activities, such as a bumblebee flying or a monkey juggling (or maybe that is common? I don’t know much about monkeys or jugglers). The pages have pictures of Cheerios and empty circular spaces where your child is supposed to place Cheerios. No, Amelia at ten months cannot deftly place the hyper marketed treats in the little cut-outs, but if I put the Cheerios in the book, she will sit and “read.” If I can’t get my baby to stop eating her books, I might as well make the books edible.

This photo is from http://www.50spoodleskirts.com

Amelia is in love with Ann Marget, at least she was a few months ago, and maybe she didn’t love Ms. Margret as much as she did Bye Bye Birdie‘s Kim, but the effect was the same: scores of Bye Bye Birdie viewings until Conrad Birdie’s gold jumpsuit was emblazoned in my mind. Ah, suffer.

If you’re wondering how this love bloomed, check out this post.

Therefore, when deciding upon a first birthday party theme for Miss Amelia, the 50s was obvious.  Although Amelia is too young to officially make her fete preference known, Dave and I feel pretty confident in our choice.

I’m not really a party planning type of gal. I like attending parties, and I can appreciate a well-done themed gathering, but the extent of my birthday party effort is usually multicolored balloons and a cake. Martha Stewart I am not. However, as soon as we decided upon a small 50′s style gathering, I knew the one item I absolutely needed to buy: A poodle skirt fit for a baby (And possibly a gold jumpsuit for Dave). I thought this would be an easy Etsy find. Not so much. I wanted a simple, inexpensive poodle skirt that could fit a non-walking baby. I didn’t want to spend hours searching for this thing and almost gave up hope when my Etsy keyword search results weren’t meeting my criteria, but then a listing for Hip Hop 50′s shop popped up. Jackpot.

I bought Amelia the toddler outfit consisting of poodle skirt, onesie, and scarf. They are having a special right now and I’m kinda kicking myself for missing out on it, but paying 30 bucks for the whole shebang wasn’t unreasonable. I just hate missing a sale. From what I gather, this operation is on the small side and definitely niche (literally everything in the store is for 50′s costumes). The skirt is super cute, made of a sturdy felt material with a poodle applique. It’s not a feat of design, but for a costume, it works.

Sometimes I’m a little hesitant to buy stuff online from unknown stores. I once ordered a bra that never arrived and when I tried to contact customer service I was repeatedly told “it’s on its way.” That was two years ago. As a result, I was super pleased with this prompt costume delivery.

Hip Hop 50′s Shop is what I like in an online store: specific, cheap, reliable. I’m now considering buying myself a Halloween costume so that Amelia and I can swoon over Conrad Birdie, which means I absolutely need to find Dave that gold jumpsuit.

Before the New Year, I decided to make a custom planner. Although I love online gadgets and doodads, I have never successfully used an online daily organizer. I need pen and paper and after staring at my less than stellar Staples and OfficeMax and Target options, I decided I needed a very specific, mommy-centric, planner. I spent a week making my own. I’m weird like that.

My homemade planner is awesome, but probably not worth the time and frustration it caused me. It wasn’t even thrifty. I purchased ridiculously expensive paper, ink, month inserts, and tabs I never used. Although I have cool custom Meredith categories like “to clean” and “to blog,” the whole making a planner thing was a bit of a pain in my rear. It was not easy. This is why I wish I had seen the company Mama Likes It Easy a few months back.

Sure, you may think $90 for a planner is crazy, but I’m entranced by the options that this money will get you. Plus, my planner is basically my brain these days, so I suppose I if I think in those terms, 90 bucks is a steal. Part of the big bucks go towards a leather binder, a “fashion” pen (whatever that is), and a charm. Nice, but not necessary. This mom company’s real money maker is the options it provides. You can choose daily or weekly inserts and the beginning month, a good option for everyone who didn’t remember to buy a planner Dec. 31st. It comes with a kit including inserts for medical info, meal planning, family activities, holidays and parties, travel, contacts, note pages, and other to-buy-separately categories (e.g. fitness). You can also buy the daily and weekly inserts sans binder, which makes the planner cheaper over time since the full binder only has to be purchased once, or, for that matter, not at all if you buy one on your own (but the Mama Likes It Easy binders are pretty darn cute and classy).

They have an affiliate program, but, no, I’m not part of it. This planner is simply something I wish had been purchased for me before I stood in front of my printer, cursing my spatial non-skills as I tried to figure out how to print on both sides of a mini-binder page (way more difficult than you’d imagine). Therefore, Mama Likes it Easy is the first entry in a new category I’m calling Stuff I Think I Love. If anyone buys one, let me know if it is truly as wonderful as it looks.

I’ll continue on my green theme for this week’s Stuff I Love. Last week, I talked about one of my favorite green cleaning books. Although I’ve had success with making my own cleaning products, I hadn’t found a suitable alternative to the Swiffer WetJet mop. I’ve tried about four different types of mops, but none beat the ease and effective cleaning of the Swiffer with its disposable velcro pads. I have cleansed myself of the who knows what is in it solution that came with the Swiffer; instead, I use diluted Mrs. Myers in a spray bottle for the kitchen tile floor (I also can’t pronounce its ingredients, but I had to switch out my beloved vinegar when I heard it’s not so great for grout). I simply spritz it directly on the floor and wipe clean with the Swiffer.

This set up had been okay, but I really hated buying the stupid overpriced wasteful Swiffer refills; even the off brand versions are expensive. I’m by no means a frugalista, but this was a budget pet peeve of mine. One day, as I channeled my Idea Woman I came up with the plan of making our own. I had some flannel left over from an attempt to solve diaper rash (a whole different story). Of course, as The Idea Woman, I’m fairly useless past the brainstorming stage. I can’t sew. Dave can sew, so I was making Dave attempt a solution. He made one decent reusuable pad, but it turns out flannel isn’t the best cleaning product. Good to know.

I had given up on my green cleaning Swiffer dreams until I read one of my favorite blogs: abdpbt.com. Anna, the blog’s author, wrote a short post with a link to the Detroit Knitter on Etsy who makes reusable terry cloth pads for the WetJet. I immediately bought a two pack. They arrived quickly (as in less than a week) and are extremely well made. I’ve already tested one out and can say it works well, much better than the flannel ones that I (okay, Dave) attempted. Check out the Detroit Knitter’s Shop. I spent 12 bucks for two, which may seem pricey, but have you ever added up how much you spend on those refills? Highkitchen robbery.

A few years ago, I decided I would remove all extremely toxic cleaning products from our home. This was before I had Amelia, so I wasn’t super concerned about safety. I was doing it to save money, but getting rid of my annoying cleaning product headache was an added perk. I wasn’t sure if I’d stick with it, but to this day I try to avoid any cleaner with ingredients I can’t pronounce. This means I make most of mine. It’s really not as difficult as it seems and, no, I’m not one of those earthy crunchy women who makes everything from scratch. If I can do it, anyone can.

When I started my green cleaning journey I googled uses for vinegar and baking soda, but I’m a nerd and I wanted a handy go-to book that provided good and easy (and did I mention cheap?) recipes. After doing more research on nontoxic cleaning than any sane person should do, I decided upon Karen Logan’s Clean House, Clean Planet. It is a wonderful book. She provides recipes for floor cleaners, all purpose cleaners, window cleaners, pretty much anything you can imagine. She also provides a rating for each product that compares the effectiveness of her natural version versus the store bought kind. I appreciate that she is totally honest and will sometimes give a recipe a 50%, even though most fall in the 85%-100% range.

I went to Target and stocked up on empty spray bottles. I even bought a funnel. I also ordered some essential oils like tea tree and lemon. Now, all I buy on a regular basis are vinegar, baking soda, borax, club soda, and Dr. Bronners soap. Oh, and I buy commercial toilet bowl cleaner. I made her version and although effective, not the easiest to apply. I decided to pick my cleaning battles.

I worried that giving up my bleach and windex would lead to a horribly dirty house. Now I realize if I have a horribly dirty house it is my fault, not the result of my poor vinegar’s defects.

Amelia often follows me around as I clean the bathrooms or dust. I don’t let her play with the actual cleaning bottles. Borax still shouldn’t be ingested. But I don’t worry about the fumes she is inhaling and for me, a natural worrier, that makes my life a little easier. Oh, and there is an added perk: Making cleaning products is fun! Maybe?

A couple months ago I insisted on visiting a semi-local thrift store so I could find my still non-walking baby a pair of walking shoes. While there, I peeked at the other items I also didn’t need. Off in the corner a multicolored “learning walker” sat by its lonesome self with a reasonable fifteen dollar price tag. Sure, I read all the parenting books and articles about how all a kid needs are some pots and pans, maybe a few wooden spoons, and access to nature, but how could I resist fifteen dollars for a lights and sound multicolored “learning walker”! I bought it so that Amelia could learn how to walk in her new shoes.

For the first month, Amelia simply pushed the buttons on the front and scooted along behind it on her knees. Oh well, I thought, I’ve wasted fifteen dollars before (probably not the best fiscal attitude). However, a few days ago, Amelia managed to pull herself up and actually put one foot in front of the other as she walked that learning walker straight into the wall. I was a proud momma and Amelia beamed up at me sweetly. Best fifteen dollars ever! Do parents need a battery operated walker to teach their kids how to do what comes naturally to most human beings? I’m inclined to say no, but I’m still putting this find in my Stuff I Love pile.

My heart is pounding just writing this post.

This week’s Stuff I Love is actually a Stuff I Don’t Love.  I have a bird fear, one that I’ve had since I was little and one my friends and family like to exploit for their own amusement when we go to the zoo or cities.  I almost disowned one friend who insisted on feeding the pigeons near us in DC simply because she wanted to see me screech and cower on top of the picnic table.

When I was in college, I went to Venice.  I have two distinct memories of this experience.  One is walking around the city with dried vomit all over me after an unfortunate eating experience involving many many Burger King brownies before taking an overnight train and the other is Piazza San Marco–the most terrifying place in the world.  I was paralyzed with fear as evil dive bombing birds, likely attracted by the dried vomit, tried to kill me.

This is why a stuffed animal made to look like a real-life hen scares the bejesus out of me.  You can thank the company Hansa for my fright.  They accurately describe their stuffed animals as a “unique collection of hand crafted, highly realistic, very cuddly plush toys…”.  All I say is eek!  Please, don’t ever buy Amelia these animals.  I prefer the sanitized tweety birds please.

Don’t forget to subscribe to all the (Over)Thinking Mom posts by RSS or Email.  Are you afraid of commitment?  That’s okay, you can subscribe to each portion of the blogcast separately.  Check out by RSS or Email the once a week Stuff I Love.  If you’d like any of the stuff you love to appear in a post, consider writing a guest blog submission.

Babies and toddlers are supposed to have large book collections to build their vocabulary, foster concentration, and give mommy and daddy a pre-set reason to cuddle (as if we needed one).  Amelia is still at the age where reading involves more chewing and throwing than wondrous awe at the written language. 

I’m assuming this phase will pass and I’m trying really hard not to be disappointed that our bedtime story doesn’t go well.  Since Amelia has a hard time concentrating on books, I recently purchased a different imaginative portable toy–finger puppets.  However, these puppets are already lost somewhere in the abyss of her toy box and I have freakishly small fingers, which means the stupid puppets keep falling off as I dazzle my daughter with my wit.  Forget that.

What is an overthinking mom who absolutely needs her daughter to enjoy books and finger puppets to do?  Dig out the finger puppet board books that Amelia’s Nonni was so smart to buy.  Amelia loves these books and actually lets me read them to her.  I also get to show off my acting chops by animating the Little Puppy or Little Reindeer or Little Turkey (that pint-sized turkey scares me).  A quick Amazon.com search reveals a plethora of animal goodness at the extremely reasonable price of less than $7 a book.  This is good news because the Little Turkey book is suffering from too much Thanksgiving time gnawing.  Poor beady eyed fowl.

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Even before Amelia arrived, I did quite a bit of shopping online.  In her early weeks, except for groceries and occasional Target items, I even did the bulk of my shopping online, and in the process discovered a well-known, but still underrated, baby shopping juggernaut:  Diapers.com.  I order something from them at least every few months, ranging from nursing tanks and bras, a portable high chair, and, of course, diapers, both disposable inserts and cloth.

I consider Diapers.com the Zappos.com of my mommy life.  I used to love shopping at Zappos because shipping was free and I’d receive my new shoes at most two days after ordering them.  I’m a sucker for instant gratification, only now I receive a pink bum genius rather than pink heels.

Diapers.com doesn’t always offer the lowest prices on items, but they do offer free shipping if you order $49 worth of stuff.  They are amazingly reliable and quick.   I’m currently anticipating Amelia’s new swim diaper.  I had forgotten to look for one before we went on our Christmas trip and I knew I wanted to try the reusable kind.  She starts lessons in a few days and yesterday I had been lamenting my lack of planning.  I was not in the mood to search all of San Diego for one.  Ah, but then I remembered Diapers.com and sure enough they carry multiple kinds of reusable swim diapers.  I should be receiving the package today or tomorrow, giving me plenty of time before Amelia’s splashing around.

Dave, however, is not a huge fan of the online shopping store.  I manage to justify some pretty interesting purchases in order to reach the $49 mark.  Therefore, I suggest buying everything you need at once or you’ll be getting a lot of extra toys.  But Dave, I still stand by the tunnel purchase!

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While in the Albany area, Amelia and I went to a kid’s boutique, Zola Kids in Saratoga Springs, with her Nonni and two Great-Aunts.  Needless to say, Amelia crawled away with a lot of loot.  Before we left, Dave joked about Amelia finding something she would want to buy, the implication being that us women were picking out the stuff and pretending like Amelia was pulling the strings.  When Amelia was a few months old and could barely move her head, this was true.  However, after not five minutes in that boutique, Amelia set her eyes on a wooden tram and screamed so loudly when I took it away that her Aunt Marie asked me if she could buy Amelia the toy.  I eagerly “allowed” the purchase and Amelia was pleased.  Later, as her Nonni was ringing up more purchases, Amelia caught sight of a new teether, a rubber grooved bear shape thing (which is awesome by the way and I wish I could remember the name of it).  Nonni obliged and Amelia was pleased.

When we go into Babies R Us, Amelia is so overwhelmed by the big boxiness of the store that she can’t demand anything.  She gapes with her mouth open instead.  But the boutique size and personal attention at Zola Kids, not to mention the presence of a grandmother and aunt, allowed Amelia to assert her consumerist will.  That is why this week’s Stuff I Love is actually a Stuff Amelia Loves, and that stuff is all the stuff in this store full of cool stuff.  She wants everyone to know that if you are looking for organic, original, and all around cool stuff for your own baby or for a baby shower, you should hit up this place before joining the crowds at places like Babies R Us.  Zola Kids bills itself as an earth friendly boutique.  This means they carry items like Sophie the Giraffe and local handmade coolness, like the teether leash I bought about eight months too late.  What a wonderful invention!

Although Zola Kids is in Saratoga, they do sell some of their items online.  If you can make it to upstate New York, I suggest checking out the boutique in person, but if you can’t, check out some of the gift sets they sell online.  We live in a land of junky baby products (some of which I admittedly own), so sometimes its nice to spend a little more for something truly fantastic.

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I know I shouldn’t love IKEA, but I can’t help it.  We have one not too far from our house; it’s in a shopping center bordered on three sides by a Costco, a Lowes, and an IKEA.  I’ve never seen a parking lot that big in my life.  Recently, I went there to pick up another pack of the super cheap and convenient sleeved baby bibs, and per usual I walked out with my arms overflowing (Literally.  They don’t give you bags and I’m too cheap at the cheap store to pay for one).

Because of a genius marketing design, I found myself wandering through the store, blankly following the giant arrows pointing me to the children’s section.  Once there, I saw a little girl oohing and aaahing over a toy box made to look like a treasure chest, felt velcro lock and all.  It’s made of a “textile material,” code for something cheap and man-made that is easily cleaned and that is light.  The mother of this girl quickly squashed her daughter’s treasure chest dreams and they moved on, presumably to look at bookshelves or fake plants.  I glanced over at the object of this girl’s desire and asked Amelia if she would like the treasure chest.  Amelia stuck out her tongue and said “La la,” followed by some drool.  Since I speak baby, I knew that was a “Yes! Oh, can we please get the textile material treasure toy chest?”

The treasure toy chest is actually called the Minnen Toy Box.  As soon as we got home, I zipped up its bottom, velcroed the top, and introduced Amelia to her new toy for housing toys.  She liked it, but I loved it.  It now has a prominent place in our living room, and I get a kick out of watching my little girl hold on to the side and peak in.  Somehow this simple, cheap box with an imaginative design turns her familiar toys into new treasures every time we play.

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When I was visiting my parents in Sacramento, Amelia discovered the joy of crawling inside of things.  Unfortunately, this joy was associated with my parents’ coffee table on which they keep the family Bible, another engraved Bible that was a gift from my grandmother’s church after she died, and some toxic magazines.  All the toys in the world could not distract her from the allure of an enclosed space, not even the Mexican American dancing Santa chihuahua.  Seriously.

When we got back to San Diego, Amelia mourned the loss of her dangerous coffee table hideaway.  I decided if I can’t stop her search for danger, I’d give her a new tunnel space.  I discovered the Pacific Play Tents I See You 6′ Tunnel and it is truly a tunnel to awesome.  It is so cool that both Dave and I have tested it out.  We aren’t as sprightly as Amelia, but I’m not ashamed to say something about crawling through a multi-colored tunnel still amuses me.  I’m impressed any toy can appeal to an almost eight month old and her 29 year old mother.

The tunnel itself seems fairly durable, but what won me over was the way it collapses and velcros shut, meaning our technicolor tunnel to awesome doesn’t have to advertise its awesomeness 24/7.  When I play with Amelia, I simply pop it open and let the giggles follow.  Most toys in her toy treasure chest are a variation on the same shake or eat theme, so its been nice to have some form of baby entertainment that lets her play in a more interactive way.  According to the tunnel’s description, it can be connected to other tunnels or tent playhouses.  I’m imagining a hamster like maze throughout the house and am almost giddy with excitement about our next tunnel purchase, likely for Amelia’s awesome April birthday.

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Amelia is a messy eater.  Finding sweet potato up her nose and on the back of her head after lunch isn’t all that unusual.  We let her feed herself, hence the pieces of carrot stuck to her backside or the avocado in her ear.  I got sick of changing her clothes after every single meal, so Dave and I came up with what we thought was an ingenuous solution.  We put a hand towel around her lap, another hand towel as a sort of bib around her shoulders, kept together by a clothes pin, and on top of all that a washable silicone bib with a catcher at the bottom.  Somehow, Amelia still found ways to hide cottage cheese in the folds of her neck.  While out to dinner with my mom’s side of the family, my second cousin mentioned washable sleeved IKEA bibs that her grandson wore.  The next day my mom and I went to IKEA.  The ingenuous solution of double towels underneath bib suddenly looked like a Commodore 64 next to a sleek IKEA Macbook style solution.  The bibs are cheap, come in packs of two, and are even sold through Amazon.  I recommend buying the bibs in the IKEA store.  That way you can walk out with two hand puppets, a baby purse, and stacking cups after popping into the store for one essential item (I’m a sucker for puppets).  I know some people think IKEA is a big business travesty selling poorly made crap.  This may be true, but I’m willing to sell my consumer soul for a reasonably priced bib with sleeves and a food catcher.  Speaking of selling my soul, you may have noticed the nifty new “Vote for us” button near the bottom of the right sidebar.  Each time you click on the square, I get a vote over at Top Mommy Blogs, which moves me up their rankings and might increase the number of readers and listeners of my all consuming and fun hobby!

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My closet is cluttered with nursing bras, tanks, and shirts that I never wear.  Before I had Amelia, I was obsessed with my nursing wardrobe, one of the many things about which I managed to obsess.  Finding a good nursing bra has been a disaster, so that is a whole other topic.  However, I did stumble upon two amazing products that make up 99% of my nursing wardrobe.  The first are Modest Middles, a product I described when doing a giveaway a couple months ago.  The second is the Glamourmom Nursing Bra Full Bust Long Top (i.e. a nursing tank with a built in nursing bra).

I want to reiterate that none of the items in my “Stuff I Love” posts have been donated to me.  Sometimes my over the top recommendations may set off alarm bells for the blog savvy reader, the one who thinks every endorsement is a paid sponsorship.  I only resort to hyperbole if I really really like something, and I really really really like these nursing tanks.

I own three in two different sizes.  Glamourmom makes the same nursing tank for non-full busted moms and I can’t speak to that one, but the one for moms who need, ummm, support is amazing.  The size smaller than the one I thought I needed has actually been a better fit.  The material is stretchy and the tank is long, which means I was able to wear the tank the day after giving birth and I’m still wearing the same tank as I write this, with some washings in between and about thirty fewer pounds on my frame.  I layer beneath a v-neck t-shirt, creating an extremely easy nursing wardrobe option, not something to wear to the Ritz, but that isn’t my hang out destination of choice anyway.

Before I went to the hospital to have Amelia, I purchased a nursing tank from Target for about half the price of the 42 dollar Glamourmom.  I wore the Target tank once, then cut it up to use the clasps for a DIY nursing bra I was making.  This has definitely been a case of you get what you pay for.  If you are about to have your first or fifth baby, I recommend packing two Glamourmom nursing tanks and a pair of black yoga pants for your hospital bag.  Over 80 dollars for two nursing tanks may seem steep when you can buy cheaper ones, but I packed and purchased way too much that I never used.  Most of the nursing bras I bought pre-baby I ended up cutting up for throwing out.  What a waste of money.  Buy this nursing tank and buy a good nursing bra when you know what size you will need, or, even better, just wear these all the time.

Just writing about this tank makes me want to buy another.  I wear them to bed as well, so I could cut down on laundry if I bought one, maybe two, more.  I can’t believe my “Stuff I Love” post is convincing me to spend more money!  Perhaps I’ll hold off until I have another bun in the oven (and I definitely do not have one of those right now).  Someone needs to have a baby so I can buy this gift for the shower.  Perhaps my Glamourmom obsession is going too far….

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Perhaps the title of this post overstates the amazing-ness of the new travel high chair we bought, but I’m standing by my hippo hyperbole.  Amelia and I have been visiting my parents in Northern California for almost a month now.  My impulsive decision to order the Chicco Travel Seat and have it delivered to their house has by itself shaped the type of outings Amelia can have with her grandparents.

A likes to eat (which reminds me that I need to write a BLW update soon).  A starts to scream if those around her are eating and she is not.  I assume she thinks it rude.  Dave and I tried to put her in one of the restaurant high chairs at a Popeye’s and all she did was sway to the side and gnaw at the grimy wood.  Sure, we were at a Popeye’s, not known for its stellar sanitation, but I still knew we had to find a better way.  I remembered back to the family camping trip of a couple months ago, picturing my two little second cousins sitting in their Chiccos at the table with the rest of us.

Initially, I was reluctant to spend 45 dollars on a travel high chair. Dave and I already have a nice high chair at home and my parent’s had already invested in one for up north.  How often were we likely to go out to dinner?  Turns out the answer to that question is directly related to the ownership of a travel high chair.  We’ve already used it three times, pretty good for two weeks.  However, psychologically this chair has changed my life.  Going out to dinner with a squirmy 7 month old is a breeze, mostly.  Pack the Chicco, a banana, some puffs, a bib, and a towel, and out the door we go.

Before having A, most people told me the first month or so of my baby’s life would be our chance to take her to restaurants before being put on parenthood induced house arrest.  Newborns, apparently, sleep all the time.  Well, my newborn didn’t sleep all the time.  She cried all the time.  As a result, Dave and I rarely went out to dinner.  But now is our time to shine.  A loves to eat, loves people, and loves sitting at the table with us.

The Chicco Travelseat isn’t a magic worker.  A cranky baby can still appear, and the highchair itself has some flaws.  The first is the size of the gap between the table and the chair.  Two rubberized grips (shaped like hippos) attach to any table with four legs (we used it on a booth and it worked fine).  The gap between the seat and the table to which it attaches is a bit big, causing pieces of banana to make the floor their permanent home.  Last time we went to dinner, I ended the meal on my hands and knees picking up A’s “leftovers.”  As far as I know, this will happen with any high chair, either the result of a gap or of your baby discovering the joyful combination of food and gravity.  I also can’t easily collapse the chair, but I suspect that has more to do with my allergen to easy directions than with the chair’s design.

The chair itself is sturdy and easy to clean.  A has bounced around in it without making my heart flutter.  I picked the Chicco based on the reviews and so far the reviews have been right.  Overall, a travel high chair was a purchase that I thought frivolous but now think fantastic.  This is up there with my boppy and glider as essential baby gear.

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I own three Halo sleep sacks and I love them, despite the name.  I’m not sure I fully understand why the word “halo” is being applied to a wearable blanket.  Either the creators view their product in the same league as saints and angels, have an odd love for meteorology, or are trying to suggest the sack has some sort of sacred protective power.  Or, yet again, perhaps I’m over-thinking it.  Regardless of the ambitious name and despite other similar products on the market, I’m a fan of these sacks.

Amelia’s colic was sometimes soothed by swaddling.  The swaddle blanket served a dual purpose:  lovingly straitjacketing her arms and providing warmth in the absence of dangerous blankets.  But Amelia outgrew the swaddle and I was left scratching my head.  When can you put a blanket in a crib?  The fear of SIDS and the realization any blanket wouldn’t cover a squirmy baby, prompted me to search for a wearable blanket, something that would cover Amelia, both to warm her and to signal bedtime.  Halo seems to have a corner on the lucrative wearable blanket market (And lucrative it has become.  The emphasis on reducing SIDS has created a whole new set of baby products unfamiliar to our mother’s generation, not to mention the adult Snuggie).

We live in San Diego, so I wanted something sleeveless.  I also wanted both a cotton sleep sack for everyday wear and a fleece one for the chilly winter San Diego evenings (Don’t laugh.  We have them sometimes).  Besides the pragmatic benefits of a wearable blanket, it works in the sleep routine, the sleep routine every parenting book demands you create so that your baby’s developing brain won’t stop growing because of sleep deprivation.  I put the Halo on Amelia before each nap, and in the evening it goes on right after her pajamas.

I’m proud to say I have successfully connected the act of putting on the sleep sack with impending sleep.  Amelia definitely knows what the Halo means.  The books were right that sleep associations can be created.  That’s the good news.  The bad news is Amelia hates to sleep, so as soon as I put the stupid sack on her she starts to scream bloody murder.  The combination of dim lights, a soothing lullaby, and the sleep sack is Amelia’s nightmare.  The sleep associations that are supposed to calmly guide your baby towards sweet dreams are the exact markers pushing Amelia into nighttime freak out mode.  Go figure.  Maybe this is why I resent the word “halo.”

Although the sleep sack pushes my baby over the night-time edge, it still qualifies as “Stuff I Love.” Because of all the books I read during the long pregnancy, I feared accidentally suffocating my baby by giving her a major no-no, such as a blanket or pillow, but I also didn’t like the idea of putting her on an empty mattress without anything comforting.  I myself have the hardest time falling asleep without something over top of me.  I still have no idea when you can give a baby a blanket?  Does anyone know?  But I do know this sleep sack goes up to X-Large and at 7 months old, Amelia is only in a medium, so I have plenty of time and money to spend before I give up this devilish Halo.

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My favorite teether is one with it’s own website, so I’m not exactly writing about a little known gem I discovered.  I’ll admit I bought this teether because everyone had one, and I worried about joining the bad mother crowd if I too did not get my darling girl her own Sophie.  If you are unfamiliar with Sophie the Giraffe, where have you been?

According to her bio, Sophie was born May 25, 1961 in France.  If a teether has been alive and well for 49 years, who am I to question it’s awesomeness.  Sophie is no ordinary cloth or plastic or wooden teether; she is made of 100% natural rubber derived from the sap of the Hevea Tree.  I couldn’t point out a Hevea Tree if it fell on me, and I’m not quite sure why natural rubber is the gold standard for teethers, but I do know how to jump on a bandwagon (quickly and with an open pocketbook).

I saw Sophie for the first time at a friend’s house who casually mentioned (the friend, not the house) she gave in and bought the teether just like every other mother in the world.  I didn’t even know I was supposed to want a Sophie, so when we got home I quickly googled this famous giraffe.  Sophie is supposed to be perfect because of her contrasting colors that appeal to a baby’s sight, her funny squeak that appeals to a baby’s hearing, her safe rubber that appeals to a baby’s taste, her feel similar to a mother’s skin that appeals to a baby’s touch, and her distinctive scent that appeals to a baby’s sniffer.  When put that way, $17 for a teether is a steal.  Dave didn’t see it this way and couldn’t understand why I wanted to spend so much on what looked like a dog squeaky toy, especially if we could combat teething with a frozen washcloth.

When he wasn’t looking, I ordered Sophie anyway.  And when it arrived, it looked just like an overpriced dog toy.  An awesome worth every penny over priced dog toy!  Sure, overpriced and worth every penny seem like contradictory terms, but Sophie contains some sort of magic to which an adult’s five senses are immune, yet by which a baby’s senses are captivated.  Dave, the original skeptic, is the first to shout “Where is Sophie?” when Amelia becomes inconsolable.  I should disclose that some friends and relatives have noted that their babies seem less than interested in their overpriced toy.  Maybe these babies are bucking the consumerist trend or maybe Amelia is more attune to Sophie’s sophistication.

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This week’s “Stuff I Love” is about a household necessity I spent hours upon hours researching after my parents in law graciously offered to buy Dave and I a vacuum cleaner a couple years ago. We were living in Virginia and reevaluating our housekeeping habits because we were ready to put our house up for sale (It didn’t sell by the way, so if you are interested in a lovely starter home in Norfolk let me know….). The house not selling was by no means a reflection of the truly awesome vacuum we eventually decided upon. I can’t believe Dave and I survived as long as we did without this vacuum, especially in light of the clumps of hair Kaiya likes to scatter after herself.

We decided upon the Miele Powerhouse S184 Upright Vacuum Cleaner. My requirements were the following: Not too heavy and no canisters please, super duper suction for all the dog hair, bring on the HEPA, and don’t give me sticker shock. Quadruple check. I wanted a cleaner with bags because in all my research I discovered the bag-less usually start out strong and eventually wither into suction-less wastes of space. The Miele vacuum isn’t perfect. In fact, I just noticed its reviews on Amazon are less than stellar, which prompted this post in defense.

One reviewer complains about the Miele’s inability to vacuum under furniture. This is true. The S184 isn’t sleek, but the attachments work well enough (and to be honest I don’t vacuum under the couch all that often. For all I know a bird could be building its nest with Kaiya’s fur). Another reviewer notes the suction is great on carpet, but so so on hardwood floors. This has been a common complaint and one I over-thought before choosing the Miele, eventually deciding suction on carpet was more important to me than anything else. We still have a broom after all, and, frankly, I haven’t noticed a problem on our kitchen floors anyhow. Some other Miele cons: We are holding the two pieces together by a zip tie after I dropped it one too many times; and, I accidentally ran over the cord, causing some fraying that hasn’t affected its performance. These flaws may be deal breakers for some, but I’m impressed the Miele has survived a couple of years, one cross country move, and multiple clumsy vacuuming performances.

A vacuum should be a household item you don’t think about too much. I had completely forgotten about my OCD research into vacuums until I saw my mom using hers. Only then did I remember my magic Miele, possibly because Dave does most of the vacuuming in our family. As far as I’m concerned, vacuums should be like brassieres, simple, reliable, and long-lasting. Check, check, and check. This may be the only blog post to compare a vacuum to a bra, but the analogy makes perfect sense to me.  Don’t even get me started talking about undergarments….

When our landlord promised to replace the dirt pile on our lawn, I imagined a scenic and eco-friendly, low maintenance rock or desert flower set-up.  Instead, we got mulch, horrible skunk attracting, non weed hiding mulch.  I can’t fully blame the landlord for the mess that is our lawn.  Neither Dave nor I have pulled a single weed and our attempt at front yard beautification–pots and flowers my parents purchased while visiting–have mostly died.  Before Amelia was born, I feared my black thumb was a reflection on my mothering skills.  Now I know yard work simply bores me.

That said, we live in San Diego.  Beautiful sunny 70 degree all year round, except for rainy today, San Diego.  After one too many days of staring at the brown mulchy mess that had replaced the brown dirt mess, I took action.  Did I pull the weeds, carve out a play friendly area, take pride in our home?  Nope.  I went online and pulled out the credit card.

I envisioned a large waterproof fun and friendly mat for my baby girl.  I wasn’t quite sure what a fun and friendly mat would look like, but after a horrible diaper-less sunning incident, I knew a receiving blanket no longer fit that description.  While picking mulch out of my daughter’s rear, I was livid at that blanket, the first time an inanimate piece of cloth provoked my ire.

I eventually found the Tote N Mat from MatsMatsMats.com (I love how their website gets to the point).  The picture shows a happy family picnicking and playing and posing on the beach.  I was sold.  I’m an easy sell.

I kinda love my blue mat that came in the mail.  For the life of me, I can’t figure out how to velcro it back into the box shape and the mulch always sticks to the back, but it is great for the park.  I even laid it out on the living room floor for over a month as Amelia learned to crawl.  Mat spit-up is preferable to dried in the carpet spit-up.  Perhaps this was a frivolous purchase, but I’d rather spend twenty five bucks on a mat than do anything about our yard.  I don’t mind subsidizing my laziness.

This week’s “Stuff I Love” is music to my ears.  While checking out a consumption addict’s crack–also known as Cool Mom Picks–I came across something called Sing Me to Sleep:  Indie Lullabies.  The first track is by the band Stars and the fifth track is a rendition of “Pure Imagination.”  I was already hooked by the self-conscious subtitle of the album, but a cover of a song from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory?  I purchased the album less than five minutes after reading the review on Cool Mom Picks.  I am an advertiser’s dream.

A few weeks before buying the indie lullabies, I had spent over an hour reading reviews of nursery rhyme albums and eventually decided upon a fairly decent one.  But over an hour of reading reviews!  That was precious productive Amelia nap time wasted.  This is why I now depend on blogs with “Cool” in the title to tell me what to buy.

I’m trying to stay away from too much TV time, yet the house can be mind numbingly quiet when I try to play with Amelia, and a few weeks of listening to the same nursery rhymes had made me resent poor Little Bo Peep.  I bought Sing Me To Sleep almost a month ago and it hasn’t annoyed me, not even after a once a day listen of the entire album.  It has also helped my vanity a little.  Yes, I’m a stay at home mom who wears yoga pants and a ponytail, my black skinny jeans forever moved to the back of the closet where I keep my impractical attire, but sometimes I need to tap into my former self.  Playing Metric over and over for Amelia is probably a little selfish, but playing Indie lullabies lets me pretend I’m still a little cool, right?

P.S.  I was also introduced to some Snooze Tunes, Lullaby tributes to people like Madonna, Elton John, and Billy Joel.  My first reaction at seeing a cartoon of a baby Madonna, bra and bangles and all, was one of fear, and the first listen of “Like a Virgin” made me scratch my head, but I will admit the albums started to grow on me in a weird I recognize that tune kind of way.

Disclosure:  I was sent copies of Snooze Tunes.  I have no affiliation with Sing Me To Sleep or Cool Mom Picks.

This week’s “Stuff I Love” post is location specific, sorta.  Amelia has been extra fussy this past week, something I didn’t think was possible considering her normal personality.  This means I’ve been thinking of ways to get her out of the house.  Perhaps our craftsman makes her claustrophic.  Regardless of the reason, this chick had to see the world, or rather, her town.

What appeases my darling girl?  Elephants, peacocks, monkeys, giraffes, and tourists.  I don’t know if Amelia is more intrigued by the hippo or by the Japanese/German/Italian accents.  Spending $37 to take her to the San Diego Zoo every time she wants to bask in mulitculturalism would be insane.  Luckily, we invested in a zoo pass.  I was wary of this purchase back in August, but now it is my Tuesday afternoon savior.  I grab my Ergo, diaper bag, and make it to the zoo fifteen minutes later.  A half hour of walking, a quick ride on the Skyfari, and back in time for a nap.

Although the traffic tries to convince me otherwise, most people don’t live in San Diego.  However, I’m sure other zoos or public places offer memberships.  I have a feeling as long as we have babies who turn into kids who turn into adolescents, Dave and I will be dishing out the membership dough.

Image: Simon Howden / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Dave and I were lazy nursery decorators.  We took one look at the darling Daniella bedding in the corner of Babies R Us, and with our nifty and dangerous scan gun, registered for every single item in the theme, including matching mobile and lamp, and, of course, two of the matching sheets.  Every day I sit in our glider and stare at this bedding as I nurse Amelia, and I don’t regret our choice.  It really is cute.  However, we barely use the mobile and have recently put the sheets in the back of the closet.  Why?  The mobile is distracting and the crib sheets take way too long to change.  When Amelia was tiny and swaddled we simply put a flannel pad down over the sheet so that we wouldn’t have to change it that often.  Now, Amelia moves way too much and I wanted something a little safer and maybe even more comfortable.

The Original Zip Sheets came to my rescue.  I don’t know why they are the “original” or if they are any better than alternatives, but I do know I love them.    A zip sheet is really two sheets.  The bottom one zips over the mattress and has velcro lining the edges.  A “piddle pad” velcros on top, covering the whole surface area of the sheet.  The velcro is really strong, so no need to worry about it coming undone; Amelia hasn’t even noticed it anyway.  I got two piddle pads.  When one gets dirty, I simply take it off and put the other on.  It take me like ten seconds.  If you have ever changed a crib sheet you will understand the amazing-ness of that time.  None of the colors perfectly matched the rose and brown of the Daniella set-up, but, honestly, after about a month, I stopped caring about coordinating colors and instead learned to value convenience.  White works for me.  They also make them for twin beds.  Is it weird I wish they could fit a queen bed?

Parenthood has made me emotionally attach to material objects, i.e. stuff, in Veblenian ways.  I used to value shoes or earrings; now I love baby carriers and zipper sheets, and this might explain why I’m writing this, in public mind you, wearing leggings, Nike sneakers, no makeup, and a frizzy ponytail.  I’m always looking for the perfect product promising to promote peaceful parenting; that sounds like a wordy tagline.  I’m a product junkie, so every once in a while, I’ll pass along something that I love.

Recently, I’ve noticed myself raving about my Ergo baby carrier.  I found it on Craigslist a couple months ago and liked it okay, but Amelia wasn’t quite big enough when I purchased it, and Dave wasn’t keen on swapping out his Sleepywrap.  I never fully mastered the Sleepywrap and the Maya sling, although nice, was uncomfortable once Amelia reached eleven or twelve pounds; that didn’t take long since she started at almost ten pounds.  Have you noticed I like to drop this fact into as many posts as possible?

My love of the Ergo has slowly crept up on me.  With Dave gone, I walk Kaiya twice a day.  I need a way to cart Amelia with me that doesn’t involve schlepping a stroller down the front steps at 6:30 in the morning; ergo, the Ergo.  Don’t get me wrong, I love my stroller as well, just not at sunrise.

I use the Ergo at least three times a day, if not more when Dave is gone, whether going on walks or a trip to the grocery store.  Lately I’ve been dropping Kaiya off at Doggie Daycare a couple times a week, which means I need to get Amelia out of her carseat, maneuver a manic dog, and court us all into the waiting area.  My Ergo is easy to put on and take off and both hands are free for me to tame the crazy that is Kaiya.

I can’t really say what makes the Ergo superior to something like the Baby Bjorn.  Maybe it’s not.  I haven’t ever used the Bjorn, but I do like that the Ergo has an attached hood for windy or sunny days and that Amelia faces in, allowing her to observe her surroundings yet also cuddle up and fall asleep before reaching melt-down mode.  Sometimes in the morning I feel like we have inside jokes; as Kaiya freaks out about the one squirrel in the neighborhood, I look down, catch Amelia’s eye, and laugh with her.  This is the lovely part of our Dave-less mornings, before the screaming and crying accompanying my breakfast a half hour later.  I digress.  I like the Ergo; it’s comfortable for me and baby; I have no affiliation with the company nor received any compensation for promoting it.  If you have a baby, are about to have a baby, or need to buy a really nice baby shower gift, you might consider this over more receiving blankets.