Retail Therapy- Zulily!

Just for all of you special little lurkers out there, I mean kind readers of my little blog. :)

Zulily has kindly offered a $10 promotional credit that is good for one week for the little spending monster inside you.

What a perfect way to start the weekend- with a little retail therapy.

Simply go to their site, pick out any adorable, discounted item and apply the promo code GROWUP10 in the appropriate box at check out and Voila! $10 will be taken off of your total that you can then spend elsewhere on something more pressing like diapers, or martini's with the girls. what??

Some of today's deals to be had are on Melissa & Doug toys, Petit Couture, Baby Creationz and super cute Primigi shoes.

Psssst, Monday they are doling out deals on one of my faves- Swedish brand Polarn O. Pyret! (be still my heart!)

Happy Friday!

600 Plus??

So I just noticed today that my blog has had over 600 plus views? Really?? I thought the only people reading this were my immediate family and bestest of friends judging by the amount of followers I have. Unless of course it's just my mother hitting refresh all day long, in which case if it is, thanks Mom. :)

For most other bloggers 600 views is a measly number but for me it's substantial as I'm not even sure I know 600 people. Or 300 people for that matter that would be willing to check this out more than once.

All of a sudden I feel the need to become a better blogger since it would seem I have a decent amount of lurkers. I'll get to work on that asap but in the interim, thank you to all of the secret readers for making me feel as though my random ramblings on life and motherhood are worth checking out.

Feel free to follow along publicly (as it would be shamelessly great for my ego ) and offer your suggestions, favorite products or random musings of your own. I'm an open book and love to hear about what other mom's are doing, as I'm all about sharing the wealth.

Rescue 911

So I came across a great find today. While LM isn't quite old enough yet to have any truly cherished plushies, nor will he ever have a beloved doll to tote around, (at least we don't think so. :) ) I couldn't help but rejoice in this little stack of doll rescue services that were rounded up on Stroller Traffic this morning for possible future use.

If only these had been around, or had my mother known about them, when my brother decided that my BELOVED Emily was too cold in my grandmother's basement and decided that she needed to warm up on the radiator, my childhood love could have had a fighting chance. This "solution" that my brother concocted up resulted in her back catching fire and most of her head melting off, which resulted in my first full blown panic attack of epic proportions.  My mother's valiant effort to try and patch her up, quite literally with a mishmash of iron-on patches on her back, did help to soothe the burn (no pun intended) for both Emily and myself. Sadly though not much could be done with her half melted head.

So in honor of Emily, I'm reposting these great sources here in hopes of no other dolls having to suffer such a horrid fate ever again. And if they do, have faith that help is just a short call away.

R.I.P Emily.

The Doll Hospital & Toy Soldier Shop is one of the oldest in the country, with five restorers and more than 100 years of doll restoration experience among them. Services include everything from patching leather body parts to restyling hair to cleaning, repairing, and restoring plushies. President Stacey Zagrodzki says broken limbs are the most common injury, though she sees a lot of bald dolls—hair shorn by scissor-wielding toddlers (they can re-implant hair). Evaluations are free, and in their 60 years of operation, they've never met a doll they couldn't fix. Visit the site for instructions on how to mail in a toy for repair.

The Doll Hospital & Toy Soldier Shop
3947 12 Mile Road
Berkley, Michigan 48072
248.543.3115
Dollhospital.com
 

The Madame Alexander Doll Company store, with more than 600 dolls and sets inspired by Eloise and Little Women, has its own hospital, where dolls of any lineage (not just Madame Alexander dolls) can be brought for repair. Hospital staff work Tuesday through Friday, from 9am to 4pm; appointments are not required for evaluations. Cost of repair is based on the damage, but an example of the cost for rejoining an 8 inch doll is $30, and larger dolls slightly more.
 
Madame Alexander Doll Company
615 West 131st Street
212.283.5900
madamealexander.com 

 

While the American Girl Doll Hospital is equipped to handle the worst of injuries (re-attaching a head is $14), not all doll repairs require major surgery. Owners can opt for a "wellness visit," during which a doll's skin is cleaned and hair brushed—and the doll is returned in a hospital gown with a certificate. The cost is $14, plus $6.95 shipping. Doll ear piercings are in the offering, too. They'll work on non-American Girl dolls as well; most repairs take two to three weeks.

American Girl Doll Hospital
609 Fifth Avenue
877.247.5223
americangirlplace.com

Young Love

So yesterday we went to the Sweetheart's Party that was hosted by one of the playgroup's that the Little Man attends.

All was going well and sweet until LM decided to start getting frisky with some of our little friends.

It started off innocently enough with a sweet attempt to plant a kiss on one of their cheeks but quickly progressed into inappropriate lengths. I kid you not, whenever he was within arm's reach of one of these poor little peanuts he was groping her like they were in the back of his Dad's car on Prom Night.

By the end of the day I couldn't help but feel like I had already failed him as a mother.

Terrible thoughts started flipping through my mind rapidly such as:
Is my kid going to grow up to be the dirtbag paying the girls in M&M's to "show me yours and I'll show you mine" behind the jungle gym at the playground? Or worse yet, be the guy in school that breaks girls hearts with a love 'em and leave 'em mentally? Surely those boys all started their "Quests to Conquest" innocently enough, right? How does one teach their 6 month old to quit being a floozy?

All jokes aside, I realize that he has zero idea what he is doing but are these subliminal acts signs of what's to come? (shudder)

Here is some evidence of my son being the town tart. I have blurred the faces of the innocent to protect their privacy, as well as in the hope that their father's won't recognize them and come to my house wielding any blunt objects.

LM's first attempt to give "A" a little sugar

Never one to discriminate he sets his sights on "M" and goes in for a squeeze

I'm too horrified to even think of a witty caption for this

one last attempt to get whatever he can

this directly followed his efforts being rebuffed.

finally a willing participant in the form of a much older woman.

It is becoming increasingly more aware to me that I have a lot of work ahead of me. *sigh.

Old Man Winter Strikes Again

Today was a huge snowday in the tri-state area and our town was covered with over 14 inches of snow! Everything looked so beautiful blanketed in the bright white stuff. I just love how quiet everything gets after a big storm like this, what a treat to just stop and enjoy how amazing mother nature can be at times. We had lots of fun playing out in the cold fluff again with Dad who managed to score a day off from work, that it made us all feel like kids again. It's going to be awhile before all of this melts and things are back to normal, so we're going to enjoy it as much as we can while it lasts as Spring will be here before we know it.

Wintery Weekend's and Mom Mafia Delights...

We're back from a glorious long weekend in Vermont with some of our besties and we couldn't have had a better time. Everything was perfectly snowcovered and beautiful in its wintery wonderland glory. It was just what the doctor ordered.

We were able to get some great skiing/snowboarding in on Saturday afternoon with perfect blue skies and sunshine, that gave way to some magical snow flurries later in the weekend. Jax had a great time visiting all of his little buddies and we had a blast with our big buddies, which makes us partly sad that we can't spend every weekend having that much fun. HUGE THANKS to our loves, the Owens' for having so many of us this weekend and for being such gracious hosts and friends, as usual. We love you guys.

The best part of the weekend though from a Mom standpoint, were all of the great tips and product finds that were shared with me by some of my mom idols.

My amazing friend Amy is the kind of Mom that I aspire to be- her kids are sweet, considerate, kind little loves and she makes it all seem effortless.

To boot she always find the best products for kids and is kind enough to pass on the wealth, which as you know, is a theory I subscribe to wholeheartedly.

This past weekend she told me about two great label companies that have a seemingly endless array of uses.

Stuck On You is a great company that makes adorable little sticker labels for everything from labeling bottles to backpacks with your child's name on them, so as to not confuse who owns what at school and daycare. They also make a cute line of labels identifying the now ever present kid allergies, so you can rest easy knowing that anyone looking over your child when they are not with you, will know not to give them that helping of PB&J or the pint of milk that everyone else is enjoying with their cookies.
They also make adorable star charts for tracking and rewarding good behavior.

If you order some lables from S.O.Y for your little bean, pass on the "Mom's helping other Mom's" good will and check off the agent box on your order with Kate Lester as the agent, as she was the original Mom who passed along this great company to Amy (envisioning the makings of a kick ass Mom Mafia happening here.)

Another great label company that Amy passed along was Mabel's Label's that is based in Canada and make super durable iron on clothing label's for kids that withstand the abuse of constant washing and they don't irritate sensitive skin.

Our other friend Jill who is an incredible mom practicing mostly green principles and makes it look so easy that she has me green with envy, bought Jax the cutest little pouch to carry around his treat's in once he's snacking on the go.

Per their website, SnackTaxi's are a great alternative to plastic ziploc bags for carrying around snacks and sandwiches, especially when one reusable bag has the potential to eliminate 1000 plastic bags in its lifetime. An important fact to recognize when an estimated 4 billion plastic bags end up as litter each year. Tied end to end, that's enough to circle the Earth 63 times!

SnackTaxi's have a 100% cotton exterior and can be machine washed and dried or simply handwashed and air dried. They were developed by a mother of 3 (noticing a trend here?) and come in a bunch of adorable fabrics and colors.

Here are a few examples of the super cute SnackTaxi.

All of these fab finds for the little ones that I can now pass on to you, while spending quality time with my friends in a beautiful relaxing setting? Weekend Success.

The Friday Highlight

Patemm Pads

Patemm Pads are a great solution to the wrestling match that takes place during diaper changes once the little ones begin to move around much more freely. Their round design makes it easy to place your little bean in virtually any direction while knowing that their little bits are easily covered. 

No more trying to gently pin your kid down on a small rectangle that they outgrew months ago. Nor do you have to worry that as soon as they roll to one side- while you quickly gather supplies- that they have their hands (ultimately ending up in their mouths) touching dirty changing tables or play gym floors.

Patemm Pads come in a rainbow of colors and designs and are available in organic fabrics as well. Each pad is eco-friendly and PVC free, is capable of storing spare diapers, wipes and even a spare set of clothes, all while folding up neatly into one little pouch that is easy to carry and cuts down on the amount of stuff we lug around.

What's not to love?

A Very Vermont Weekend

So this weekend we are headed off to Vermont for some fresh snow, skiing, s'mores by the fireplace and the all important aprés ski - complete with hot toddies. It will be Little Man's first time in the Green Mountains, one of our favorite places on Earth and we will be spending the weekend with the Owens's, some of our favorite people on Earth. We'll be sure to give a proper recap of our wintery weekend when we return!

My Son Officially Hates Me.

 my guys 

So after the last 6 Months of doting, snuggling, cuddling, kissing, playing, feeding, rocking and carting my son around to all of his fun activities and playdates that I arrange for him- this morning he woke up and said one word that broke my heart in two, right on the spot.

"Dada."

I'm crushed.

Don't get me wrong, his Dad is pretty great but I have to admit that I'm a tinge jealous.

I'm also sad /proud/ excited/ amazed by how quickly he is growing up and that he said his first word today. It's incredible to me everyday how much he learns and is becoming more independent right before my eyes.

I love him so much it kills me.

So does however, the fact that he didn't say "Mama" first but I'm sure I'll get over it.
If I never do though, I'll be sure to give him guilt trips about it well into his adult life. :)

I keed, I keed. The wound is still fresh!

Really though, I'll be drilling it into his head, er I mean, we'll be practicing all day saying..... "Mama, Mama, Mama"

Welcome, Aimon!

So my new nephew Aimon was born last night at 9:23pm and was 5lbs even and 17 inches. He is a petite little bean as my sister was only 34 weeks when her water broke yesterday but both Mom and Baby seem to be doing great, so sighs of relief all around.

Welcome little guy!

Baby, Maybe?

So my step-sister is in the middle of labor right now about to give birth. Which means that I am just a few seconds? minutes? hours? from being an aunt again. Before I had my son I would be both equally excited and terrified for my friend's and family before they gave birth, partly because it was such a mystery to me. Post delivery, I'm just excited for her because I know how drastically her life is about to change, in the best way possible. As I wait for the call from my Mom, all of my most positive thoughts are going out to her tonight as she awaits the arrival of her little boy, hopefully safe and sound. 

I'll be sure to share the good news once the little guy makes his debut.

Love

Speaking of Love.

I adsolutely adore everything in the Sarah Jane Studios shop on Etsy.

Her vintage inspired artwork for kids is so sweet it makes my teeth hurt.

Be Mine.

Happy February!

This month is just what I need to perk up from the post holiday haze and frigid January temps that have left me feeling less than inspired. Above and below are a few Valentines I found crusing the internet. Aren't they cute? I love that we have another holiday to look forward to and celebrate with the Little Man. I can remember being in school when I was younger and being so excited for Valentine's Day. It was so exciting to collect all of the sweet homemade paper hearts (or the cute storebought kind) that filled the DIY mailboxes we attached to our desks. What a sweet little way to let someone know you think they're special. No grand romantic gestures, no sweating trying to find a reservation only to eat one of the 5 items available for the evening, just a sweet little note with a loving sentiment- and maybe some chocolate. :) I look forward to when the LM is bigger and we can make some together. He is most definitely my little valentine this year

 (and his Dad ;) ) who's yours?

The Friday Highlight

Rock A Bye Baby

These adorable albums of lullaby renditions of popular music are one of the cutest things out there right now for kids.

The list of artist's covered runs the gamut. Guns 'N'Roses, Led Zeppelin, U2, Pink Floyd, The Pixies, Bob Marley, Radiohead and The Ramones to name just a few- makes it virtually impossible not to find your favorite artist represented in their catalog.

The lullaby's are beyond sweet and super soothing to the little ones. They make a really cool gift for baby showers or simply for selfishly trying to push your musical taste on to your little ones.

Check out their website to see if your favorite band is covered here.

Zulily

A great new private sale site just launched called Zulily.

They offer daily deals from great cutting edge brands for Mom, Babies and Kids at up to 70% off retail prices.

Membership is free to sign up and you receive $10 worth of credit everytime you refer a friend that uses the site!

Check out some of the items offered in today's batch of deals:

organic cotton and knit dresses from Origany

cool artwork from Lex

They're Here! They're Here!

Cue the choir of angels.... The Little Man's first teeth have arrived! FINALLY!

That's right, I said TEETH. Not one, but two!

This past weekend wasn't just eventful because of our first airplane trip. It was also one for the record books because Jax finally felt relief as his new, shiny little chicklets finally popped through his gums.

Now, 18 more to go!

not the most flattering shot but I had to capture the new choppers!

Home Sweet Home

After a failed attempt on Monday night- due to apocalyptic weather in the Northeast- we finally made it home late last night from our trip to the Sunshine State.

The flights there and back were great, the Little Man did surprisingly well and I managed to get through both trips with my sanity and dignity well in tact. While I had lots of fun experiencing Jax's first flight with him, I have to admit that traveling sans babe, used to be much simpler. However, I am doing a fair amount of back patting today as the process, while more time consuming than in the past, was pretty well orchestrated by moi. Traveling with a baby, albeit alone, can be exhausting. Just locating where all of the elevators are in the airport can be feel reminiscent of trying to find the Holy Grail. (Don't worry, they're all located on the opposite end of whatever side of the terminal you are currently in, in comparison to where you need to be. )

Despite the unsolicited workout though it wasn't too bad. I somehow managed to think of just about everything, which I'm still trying to figure how that was possible when just last week I put the salt and pepper in the fridge while cleaning up after dinner due to a still lingering pest called baby brain.

Once we arrived, we were greeted by an exhuberant Grammy, as expected, complete with camera in hand to capture Jax exiting off of his very first flight. Very cute.

We had a short ride home from the airport and after the bathing/ PJ/ bed rituals were performed I was greeted with a well deserved glass of wine.

Success.

On Saturday we headed into Hyde Park, which is a really great area of fantastic tree lined streets filled with beautiful homes, all of which lead to the bay, for the annual Gasparilla Kids Extravaganza and Pirate Parade.  This was the Little Man's first parade and he absolutely loved checking out all of the floats, people dressed like pirates and catching Mardi Gras beads with the rest of the crowd.

    arrrggghhhh matey!!!                            

a pirate ship in Tampa Bay

We capped off the day with a nice dinner out while a very tired little pirate snoozed in his stroller,

recuperating from a hard day of "looting."

                                        

On Sunday we celebrated my sister's baby shower since she is expecting a little bean the first week of March.  Jax was the only "guy" at the party and was a huge hit with all of the ladies. My sister received lots of adorable gifts from friends and family and is off to a great start for the little one.

                   

        Jax and his Aunt Sheena

 We were supposed to return home on Monday night but as I mentioned in the beginning of this post the weather in and around NYC was horrible with torrential rains and 70 mph winds reported. This resulted in a 4hr delay of our already late flight home which would have ended with the little man and I getting home in the wee hours of the morning, not my idea of a good time.

With the help of Angela, a JetBlue representative at Gate A12 in Tampa Int'l Airport, (yes this is a shoutout) we were rebooked on a flight home the following day- FREE OF CHARGE.

I'm not sure what was more shocking: the fact that it was so seemless getting on another flight without so much as a cent coming out of my pocket -when the airlines charge you extra for breathing in more air than the guy next to you these days - or my utter disbelief that there are still people that exist that actually care about being helpful (in an age of seemingly non-existent customer service.) I appreciated the fact that she took pity on a mother traveling solo with a small baby that is clearly not going to last through your so called 4 hr delay getting us home at 1am. This of course after I checked my flight 67 times before I left for the airport and you kept reporting that it was "On Time."  Did I mention that I had already checked our bags and she had them immediately pulled for us so that we wouldn't be inconvenienced? Unreal.

So for the above reasons, and in the hope of shaming others into doing a little more than what is the bare minimum- I believe that Angela and JetBlue Airlines may just be the final frontier, the Last of the Mohicans if you will, of superior customer service and they deserve a round of applause.

Angela also deserves a raise. I'm just saying.

Between Angela's efforts, the stewardess' making a fuss over Jax on both flights and offering help at every turn, to the much appreciated Direct TV complete with current episodes of the trashtastic Real Housewives of Orange County, I know who I'll be flying when I head back in a few weeks to meet my new nephew.

The Friday Highlight

Sleep Sheep

Today's highlight is of one of my hands down favorite baby gadget/gizmo/toy/mommy assistant etc...

May I introduce to you, The Sleep Sheep.

My love for this cuddly little dose of baby ambian disguised as an adorable little farm animal is intense. I'm talking crazy lunatic, panty throwing at your favorite rock concert intense.

This adorable little sheep has been at my son's side since the day we brought him home from the hospital. For him, it immediately signals that it's time for sleep, once the sweet sounds of ocean waves (a Wile family fave) slapping the shore begin to waft out of the little speaker hidden in its body. As soon as he hears it, my son starts to calm down and settle in, allowing himself to relax and let go of all of the pressures of the day that come from playing, rolling over, spitting up and pooping. Hey, these tasks are exhausting people!

When my son was a newborn and sleeping in the bassinet in our room, my husband used to laugh that if he closed his eyes he actually felt like we lived at the beach- right before he passed out.  Clearly it even works on adults.

I love this product so much that when I noticed that they sold a Sleep Sheep To Go, which is a mini version for strollers and carseats, I snapped it up immediately. This little item has even cured my son of his intense hatred for the carseat ever since our "little" roadtrip over Thanksgiving when my son melted down on I-95 while we were sitting in dead stopped traffic still several hours and 4 states from home. The same trip that resulted in an extremely luxurious overnight stay in one of Virgina's finest interstate-side motels while the 4 of us (our dog included) cried ourselves to sleep. The trip was so traumatic that as soon as we returned, whenever I tried to put my son in the carseat he would act as though I was trying to dip him in a pool of battery acid and would scream until we reached our destination and was set free.

The Sleep Sheep has changed all of that. I purchased the mini in a flitter of hope that it would help my son feel calm like he is when he is in his room. I attached the fluffy little guy to the carseat during one of the Little Man's epic meltdowns as we were preparing to leave for his monthly check-up and Voila! Dead silence. He immediately stopped crying and dare I say smiled? Within minutes he had calmly dozed off in his seat and had to be woken up to receive his check-up. Life has been this glorious ever since.

Thank you Sleep Sheep. Thank you.

If you have a product that you can't live without, I'd love to hear about it!

Contact me at: growingupwile@gmail.com

Leaving on a Jet Plane

So tomorrow, I am embarking on my first flight with the Little Man. Solo. (shudder)

I have been quite fortunate in my lifetime to take some pretty amazing trips, so I consider myself a well seasoned traveler-one who is familiar with the in's and out's of airport protocol as well as how to make my trip go smoothly by planning accordingly. However, it will be LM's very first time ever on an airplane and my first time flying with a baby in tow.

I have absolutely zero idea what to expect because I'm smart enough to not allow my mind to go there.

The reason for this trip is to visit Jax's Grammy in Florida, who I'm sure has been counting down the seconds until our arrival, in the same way a life sentence inmate does- by painfully scratching each one off on the wall with a makeshift shank since I booked our flight a month ago. I have no doubt that she will be dancing with excitement at the gate as we walk off the jetway and I also have no doubt that I will be relieved to find the extra hands at the other end.

Until we reach our destination though, I am following my friend Katie's sage advice- whom after several trips by air in the last few months with her adorable 7 month old in tow, should now be considered a professional- and I'm just going to approach this positively like it is a great little adventure that we are going on. No stress, whatever happens, happens- just try to have fun with it.

I will do my best.

For anyone who is traveling to Tampa tomorrow out of Newark, may I offer my apologies in advance- please take sympathy on me. I am going to try and "plan accordingly" but I realize that this will still most certainly leave me at a disadvantage, somewhere along our journey, in the midst of some unforseen circumstances.

I'll be sure to share our trials and tribulations when we return.

Wish us luck!

Currently Coveting....

If I were in the market for $1,000+  baby bedding right now, my credit card would be screaming to be abused on Serena & Lily's latest collection of nursery bedding. Their unique textiles are a mix of eclectic and beautiful styles, all while remaining perfectly sweet. I'm crushing. Hard.