My Trip to THE Joyful Abode.

Two weekends ago, I went to visit Emily and her two children, Anneliese and Joseph.
I knew her not only from her blog, but also from our interactions on Twitter, Instagram, and from our brief meeting at MommyCon Las Vegas when I bought a wrap from her.

My goal for the weekend was to let her take a nap, as her husband was deployed at the time, and caring for two toddlers alone with no break is exhausting. Although that didn't happen, she was able to accomplish "all the things" while I was there. Do you follow me on Instagram? I posted pictures of our weekend on there!

My time there was nothing short of amazing and the things I learned from Emily, although she wasn't intentionally teaching, were invaluable to both my present life as a nanny and my future life as a mother.

Her cooking was absolutely out of this world. Everything was absolutely amazing, but my two favorite things she made were Paleo Banana Nut Waffles (without the nuts) and Lemon Garlic Chicken with Green Beans & Potatoes. I don't normally like fresh green beans, but they were super yummy cooked this way. Since being home, I've already made the chicken dish once, and it will definitely be added to my rotation.

We had such a great time and now that her husband is home (Yaaay!), I'm sure she'll be getting plenty of rest and down time. She's so, so sweet and you need to go check out all her links. Mmkay? (: I promise you won't be disappointed, especially if you're crunchy like us!

Emily: Flickr // Blog // Facebook // Twitter

Common Winter Carseat Mistakes

First off, I have to stay I have absolutely no problems following these guidelines. I live in Southern California, where the daytime low in the city I work in is over 40* F and typically happens in January... definitely warm for some places on the planet. I brought up these rules on Twitter, where some of the girls are from Winnipeg, obviously a huge difference in climate.

Don't get me wrong, I know its freezing there. I know that snow on the ground six months out of the year is normal. But really, really don't think that following these guidelines in impossible. A huge hassle and terribly inconvenient, yes; but not impossible.

1. No thick or puffy coats. Layer clothing instead. A long sleeved shirt and polar fleece jacket should be sufficient when transferring an infant or child from house to car and back again. Add a blanket during transfer for added warmth, if needed. If it's really cold where you live- warm up the car ahead of time if possible. Heavy jackets become compressed under the straps in a crash and can even cause the child to become ejected from the seat. In the event of a crash, the harness would be like the "Coat Off" photo, loose and essentially useless. A proper fit of the harness is absolutely crucial in the event of a crash. Period.

2. Carseat bunting should never interfere with the harness system of the carseat or go behind your child in anyway. There are carseat covers the have elasticized edges that fit the seat like a shower cap, like the JJ Cole Car Seat Cover. 

Spring is on the horizon, but for the remainder of winter, be safe & warm. 

The Danger of Projectiles

Car seat safety is a huge deal to me. It's something I'm passionate about, and I'm a huge advocate for extended rear facing and extended harnessing. But that talk will be saved for another time. There is another huge little-known danger when infants and children are in the car. They're projectiles.

What are projectiles?
Anything that is loose and able to move through the car in the event of a crash. This includes but is not limited to: sippy cups and/or bottles, toys, non-cling window shades, unrestrained booster seats, purses and diaper bags, and water bottles.

Why they're so dangerous...
Items flying through a vehicle are moving extremely fast. Think about how much a full cup weighs, or your purse, or that plastic toy your child plays with every time they get in the car. Weigh them, then put them in different scenarios using this formula:

[weigh of object] x [traveling speed before the crash] = [pounds of force]

For example:

B's full sippy cup weighs [1 pound]* and am driving at [45 mph] when a crash occurs. 

[1] x [45] = [45 pounds of force].

That's heavy. It's the equivalent of throwing a 45lb dumbbell through the vehicle. 

Keep personal items in the trunk and if you must keep it with you, put it in the glove box or an enclosed center console. Don't let children have toys or cups while the vehicle is in motion. I, too, am guilty of this. In the mornings when I'm running late, I tend to throw my things on the front seat which is a huge no-no. 

Don't use ANY after market items, at all. Suction cup window shades like this can become loose and be thrown about in the event of a crash, as can accessories such as: activity bars, and view mirrors. These items aren't crash tested with any child restraints. 

Don't think it can happen to you? Read Christina Hish's story here. I believe that when people know better, they do better. And I hope that now that you know better, you will do better too.

Whimsyboo Baby: A Review

I first heard about Whimsyboo Baby from Jenny, aka CandidMommy on YouTube. She purchases their hooded towels for her two boys. I've known this, but never checked up on it until about a month ago when I was shopping around for Christmas gifts for Baby L. I knew I wanted to go the natural route. It's becoming more and more important to me to purchase items that are of organic matter and can easily biodegrade once they are done being used.

Whimsyboo Baby Products are handmade in the USA of Organic Bamboo Velour.
Product info taken from the Whimsyboo Baby website:
"Our products are luxurious and soft, will comfort and soothe your baby and are oh-so cozy..."

Some facts about Organic Bamboo Velour*:

• Bamboo is eco-friendly.
• It is hypoallergenic.
• It is three times more absorbent than cotton.
• It is antibacterial.
• It is odor resistant.
• It is 100% biodegradable. It came form nature and can return to nature once it has been fully used.

I placed my order on the Whimsyboo Baby website on December 12th, it was shipped on the 14h and I received my items on the 18th. A total timeline of six days from start to finish. I was incredibly impressed. 

When deciding what to purchase for Baby L, I wanted something that had longevity and wouldn't have to be replaced often. I also wanted something that could potentially hold sentimental value for him in the future. This blanket is a perfect size to use as a blanket right now, but will be perfect "toddler lovie" size in the future. L is that baby who has to have a soft blanket touching his face as he falls asleep. No soft blanket? Have fun with that! If it's covering his entire face, even better. Of course that causes me to be a nervous wreck. 

Can you see a theme here? Soft and snuggly is key in L's life. 

I received Baby L's Cuddle Blankie (Color: Icee Blue/ Vanilla Custard) in a padded envelope, wrapped with a ribbon and logo tag. Of course I ripped into it right away so I didn't get a picture. Hey! I was excited. I also received a handwritten note on my packing slip and a free wash cloth. I was blown away! I loved everything about the process and can't rave enough about my experience with Whimsyboo Baby. I will most definitely be purchasing from her again! 

*All facts about Organic Bamboo Velour are taken from the Whimsyboo Baby website.
I purchased this product with my own money and am not being compensated for this review in any way.

MommyCon Adventure!

First? Go get yourself some hot cocoa and popcorn, make yourself comfy.
This is going to be a long one. Ready? Continue on, now.

This adventure started on Thursday afternoon, after I got off work around 4:30p. Both my mom and I we're packed and ready to go, and I had picked her up earlier in the day (with permission from my bosses, of course). So we left, and hit the road at 4:30p. Well, by the time we had gotten thirty-ish miles into our road trip, I had to pee. Now, I live thirty miles from work. The place where we stopped so I could go? Like six miles from my house. There was a little bit of traffic and I thought I was going to pee myself. No freakin' joke. That was event numero uno.

Driving along, we were...
Got gas and snack in Barstow, CA. A smallish town where EVERYONE stops to eat, pee, or get gas if they're on their way out of Southern California.
Got back on the freeway. Then...

Not three miles from the on ramp, we ran over something on the freeway. Based on the evidence, it was huge. But neither my mom nor I saw it. We got a flat tire. See that red rectangle? That's a gash in my tire. Whatever made it also dented my wheel/rim.

After pulling over, I got everything else and got ready to put on the spare myself. If you've stalked browsed some of my older posts, you know I can do this myself without the blink of an eye. I learned in Girl Scouts and hate waiting for AAA to do it for me. But, I couldn't get the lug nuts off. So I had to wait. Which annoyed me. Luckily it didn't take that long, even though we were in BFE. AAA dude put on spare tire and off we go. We got to the hotel an later than planned, around 12:30a.

We check in. They give us our room keys. We go to our room, and the keys didn't work. Oh hell no. aAfter multiple attempts we go back down to the lobby to fix our situation. The clerk wrote down the wrong room number, by one stinkin' digit. Awesome. 

So they fix it, gave us a $50 food credit, gave us new keys, yada yada. We go upstairs, to the 22nd floor and to the end of a long hallway, get to the correct room. Open the door and get hit with the smell of weed like a ton of bricks. OH HELL NO. I walked in and there is chewing gum stuck to the ceiling above my bed. Are you freaking kidding me? My mom tried to call the front desk three different times and gets put on hold for at least ten minutes each time. The last time, someone hangs up on the other end after she was transfered to the manager. Fuming....

I went to the front desk and told them to FIX. IT. NOW. Know what the clerk told me, "I'm sorry ma'am, we don't normally do room changes this late..." It was about 1:30a. Luckily he redeemed himself with "But I'll have you talk to the manager about your situation." Good.

We go a new, smell free room. I ordered a quesadilla from room service & hunkered down to get about five hours of sleep before I had to get up and take my car into a tire shop the next morning after I registered. I'm just glad that went smoothly. 

The guy at the tire shop made me laugh though. We pull up and I told him I got a flat. So he goes to check everything out. Apparently he thought they would be able to "fix" the hole in my tire and came back in the waiting room telling me that they couldn't fix it and that I would need a new tire. I wanted to burst out laughing. Uh, duh. The thing went flat in less than a minute and the hole was big enough for me to put my fist through it. 

***

After that ordeal, I got to meet the girls from TMD and bought a wrap from Emily. Everyone was super nice and helpful. I will definitely be going back next year! I learned a ton and between my mom and I, we went to almost every seminar they had. (: I'd definitely recommend taking a spouse or friend so you can split up.

Saying No To Plastic

**Written on December 17, 2012**

I've decided that from now on I will only buy wood toys, for my future children and as gifts for the children in my family. I was shopping for my mom's co-worker's nephews (think personal shopper) today and realized how accesible high quality wood toys are. That's when I made my decision.

On my journey to eat less processed food, using more chemical free products, and taking the ecosystem and earth into consideration; I found this was a natural step. I am refusing to fill landfills with items that are nearly impossible to biodegrade and burden our children with this mess.

I will limit the amount of bottled drinks I consume and use a reusable bottle when I need to carry fluids on the go. Think about it - if I consume two bottles of water a day every day for one year, thats 730 plastic bottles per year, for only one person! What about your family of five? Two bottles per day for a year; 3,650 plastic bottles that will take 450 years each to biodegrade.

Here's what fueled my decision:
- It's takes the average plastic water bottle four hundred and fifty years to biodegrade and over 90% of bottles aren't recycled. Even when you throw that plastic bottle into your recycle bin, it can only be recycled twice.
- Bottles made with Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) will never biodegrade.

Yes, I know I'm using plastic bottles as an example when I'm refusing to buy plastic toys. But think of how thin that bottle is, in comparison to how thick the plastic on that toy is. 

The complete biodegradation of the average household wooden chair takes thirteen years. Paint, wood treatment, and landfill conditions are all factors in how long it takes for natural resources to decompose. Seeing as how wood toys are a lot smaller than furniture, the time it takes for them to biodegrade would be less. 

Think about land fills...
How many are there? What's in them? Where are they?

According to this site, there are 3,091 active landfills in the United States. They contain things like paper products, textiles, and wood scraps - along with things like disposable diapers, plastic and styrofoam. Disposable diapers and plastic take 450+ years to biodegrade, whereas styrofoam exists forever and is not capable of breaking down into organic matter.

I don't have children yet, but when I make these decisions I think of them. I think about how disgusting their earth will be if we continue on the track we're on. How filthy their world will be if God forbid, it get's worse. I think about Baby L, who won't turn 18 until August 14, 2030. What will our world look like then? I think about J's young cousins and my best friend's son. I want their world to be clean, safe, and free of toxic chemicals.
All biodegradation information is taken from here.