Lets Chat!

My son, Leon, has out of the blue started saying more words. He went from about 5 to 25 in a weeks time. His favorite is when I say, "ready..." and he says, "set...GO!". Its super cute. The only thing is that he says it over and over when we're at the store or wherever and it doesn't always sound like "set". :) He's also figured out that "set" is close to "sit" so he is now constantly telling our dog Macy to sit.
I've heard that once they start talking it never stops. As for right now I'm okay with that. I love his little voice. :)

Bottles? Whaaat?

One thing I love more than getting a good deal is.....getting a quality product that I use like CRAZY. Usually before I buy pretty much anything, I research reviews online. Most of the time I find the reviews very helpful, and sometimes I end up getting something I shouldn't have wasted my money on. Its always worth the gamble though.

I have decided that I'm going to be sharing some of the best products I believe every mom should have, and today I want to talk about a baby bottle drying rack. It was something I never even imagined I would need because like many mothers I was set on breastfeeding. Well I breastfed for a little over 2 months and then had to start using formula. (That's a whole post in itself..we'll save it for another day!) I had nothing for bottle feeding. No bottles, and no idea that there were fifty-thousand nipples out there. Nothing, nada, zip. So I explored the many options out there, and after a month or so of wasting a lot of money and a lot of time using the dishwasher, I realized something.... I only need a few bottles (I used Playtex Drop-ins) and I should be hand washing them instead of running the dishwasher constantly. Maybe that was common sense but I blame the "pregnancy brain" (and still do some days). After purchasing a very inexpensive piece of plastic from my local Wal-Mart, my life became SO much easier. The Munchkin Sprout Drying Rack didn't take up much space and I really enjoyed that it could spin. There were little places around the bottom to lay his pacifiers on and (because of my OCD lol) there were many places to organize the bottles, nipples, and rings for the bottles. I used this even after my son turned one and we started using sippy cups. I highly recommend this product. It costs less than 10 bucks (at Wal-Mart) and has lasted me over a year! I still use it for his small cups, spoons, and (unfortunately) pacifiers.

Check it out and let me know what things were crucial in your home...post-baby of course :)

Can I have a tantrum too?

Why didn't anyone warn me that I wouldn't be able to do everyday tasks ever again?
My son is almost 18 months old and he has started throwing a royal FIT anytime he doesn't get something he wants. Not only that, anytime something doesn't go remotely his way he screams. Empty sippy? Scream. Have to get in the car seat? Scream. Time to change my diaper? Scream. Can't play outside anymore? Scream.
Scream, scream, and scream.
These aren't just screams, mind you...they are kicking and hitting and throwing anything within arms reach. I walked into Big Lots yesterday and he didn't want to get into the cart. He wanted to push the cart. Okay, I can understand that he was tired from sitting forever. I get that he is frustrated. I don't get how he believes screaming, crying, kicking and hitting is going to get him what he wants. Where did he learn this behavior? I'm at a loss here.
Do I ignore him?
Do I punish him?
Is this an early part of the "Terrible Twos", or is my child going to be a wild animal forever? What do you do when its impossible to run simple errands anymore because its all about what he wants?
I think soon I may begin to throw my own tantrums, and lets just hope that its not in the middle of the supermarket.

My first post! Wooo!

Hello out there to the blog world!! I'm excited to be sharing my life with you (especially the moms!). Once I have everything figured out I will be back! :)