Baby Gear

For those that know me, they know that I'm a thrifty (ok, cheap) person and that I like to get my money's worth out of the things I buy.  So, I've compiled a list of things that we had for Quinn (and some even for Owen) that were definitiely worth the money.  (I'll do a later post about those that were NOT worth it).  Please note that these are just my honest opinions and I'm not being compensated to endorse any of these products.

Bouncy Seat - I believe that a bouncy seat is a must.  When the kids were just beginning to eat cereal and baby food, this worked very well for feeding them.  In addition, it is great to get a baby sitting up for part of the day soon after they are born.  In addition, this was great to use when I needed to take a shower and wanted to keep an eye on my child so this allowed me to take them right into the bathroom with me!  The one here in the picture with Quinnie was actually given to me by a friend when I had Owen, so this one stood up to 3 babies and it got a lot of use.  This one doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles (but does have a little vibrating feature for soothing).  (You can find a pretty nice and sufficient one here)

Hammer:  This Little Tykes Hammer we got as a gift (and retails for about $15).  This one has an on/off switch.  I've never replaced the battery through two kids.  The head part of the hammer is soft(er) and when you hit it against something it lights up and makes hammer (and sawing) noises.  Great toy to take with you too!



Learn and Groove table (Leap Frog):  We got this table for Quinnie for Christmas (she was about 6 months).  What is really great about this table is that all of the legs are removable so before your baby is even standing, they can play with all of the different aspects.  Quinnie loves this table and plays with it daily.

Gerber diaper bag:  This diaper bag worked very well for long trips where I needed more than just a couple hours worth of stuff.  It comes with a diaper changing pad, two side bottle holders and some nice inside smaller mesh pockets to hold things like spoons, toothpaste, medicine, etc.  I got mine for $20 (at Meijer)



Playtex Vent Aire bottles:  We got these bottles when we had Owen (and thus the pre "Advanced" stage).  They held up through both children.  Things I loved about these bottles:  They are bent to help not only the person feeding the baby, it also is helpful for when the baby learns to hold it themselves.  Neither of our children were "spitter-uppers" and I believe I can contribute a lot of that to the usage of these bottles.  They were a bit pricier upfront, but they were worth it!  Here is what Playtex says (more eloquently):  "Promotes semi upright feeding position recommended by pediatricians to help prevent ear infections. Plus, micro-channel vents create a consistent flow of liquid to minimize pressure on your baby’s ear canals and helps protect against gas, colic and spit-up"  (view their webpage here)

What great products did you have for your child?  Or, are there other products you want recommendations on?

Owen's First Day of Kindergarten

Yesterday was Owen't first day of kindergarten.  We had gone school shopping with his supply list awhile before.  Of course, the most important thing was the backpack! He wanted a Cars Backpack and we got him this one:

About everything else had a Cars theme to it as well (folders, notebooks, pencils).  The one thing we got him that had a different theme was a Marvels lunch box (with Spiderman on it).

So on Tuesday night when he went to bed, we got out clothes for the morning - he wanted to wear his blue Diary of a Wimpy Kid shirt and "hook" blue jeans.  Of course right before I go to bed is when I realize that I better put his name on everything.  I got his bag packed and ready to go in the morning.

We got up in the morning around 7 and were ready to all leave the house around 7:30 but of course, I needed a few "first day" pics:

In addition we left early enough as I wanted to take him out for donuts to show him that this was a very special day:

He seemed to enjoy the special treat and managed to keep himself clean :)  I then took him to his new daycare (which starts a Kindergarten program in September).  He didn't seem to be nervous at all - "bye Mom" - I have to admit I was a little sad that he wasn't more sad, but that's a Mom for you!

I called daycare after he got on the bus to ensure that the morning had gone ok, which it had.  Dad picked him up from daycare and they went out for ice cream (he doesn't need treats for a long time now!).  He wasn't overly talkative but he said that he had a good day, he had made friends (but didn't remember their names), there are two other Owens at daycare so he is now Owen W. (boo - I really didn't want him to have an initial!).  He was excited this morning about going and wanted to make sure he got to ride the bus again!

So we'll see how today goes.  Do you remember anything from your first day?

Popular Toys (early 80s)

Now that my son is starting Kindergarten (today actually - see tomorrow's post!), I was thinking back to when I was a kindergartner and the things that I liked a lot back in those early school years.  So I have compiled a list with some images to bring back the memories:

1.  Rainbow Brite - this was one of my favorite dolls.  I even had Starlite (the unicorn) to go with her!  Do you also remember the Sprites that velcroed to her hand? 

2.  Shrinky Dinks - I loved these - do you remember these?  You colored a larger version (generally with colored pencils) and then Mom baked them in the oven and they got smaller and hard so that they could stand up on their little pedestal.  My favorite were the Smurf ones.

3.  Adjustable Roller Skates - I remember having ones that had blue wheels and my brother and I would take turns putting these on (with your tennis shoes on too, of course).  I guess at least it took much longer to outgrow the skates!

4.  Popples - I guess we could call these the prior "pillow pets" - when you got your Popple into a ball, heck, it made a pretty good pillow!  I actually had the little white one from this picture; my brother had an orange on and one that looked like a soccer ball when you balled it up!

5.  Peaches N Cream Barbie - I loved Barbies in general; but I had a peach room when I was little so as you can imagine, I was pretty excited by a peaches Barbie!

6.  Muppet Babies - Loved owning these dolls, but especially loved the show!  Here is a baby Animal!

7.  Choose Your Own Adventure Books - I of coures liked these more when I was in about 3rd or 4th grade.  I really think that they should come out with movies that do this.  If you would like the boy to chase after the girl, click 1.  If you would like the boy to run screaming in the oppposite direction, press 2, ...

8.  Super Mario Bros - the original!  Ah, the Nintendo.  Think of how advanced graphics we thought this had at the time.  I remember the "warps" that you could find to make the game shorter and how teenie Mario would get when you lost your "power up mushroom" :)

What exciting toys of the 80's were your favorites?