Shaidee and Shaidee Bug for Babywearing!!

I'm sure you've all seen my baby wearing posts and know I love our carriers. I have soft structured carriers (SSC's) like the Boba, Ergo, Kinderpack, and Tula along with wraps and slings. We try to only use carriers that promote an ergonomic position (M shaped baby legs and no dangling).

When I saw the Shaidee accessories for carriers I jumped at the chance to try them out. They offer a shade piece which is perfect for here in FL and also a bug cover. Since we have more than our share of mosquitos here in FL, this is a huge plus too! My kids tend to react crazily to bug biters just like their dad so prevention is key. Little ones can't use bug spray or sunscreen for quite some time so having an alternative is important. The Shaidee product's main use is for kiddos from birth to 1yr old but as a baby wearing mom who wears her toddlers and beyond they can be used much longer.

The Shaidee is very lightweight and is a visor device that straps around the person wearing their baby in any front carrier. It can also be clipped onto a stroller to give a few more inches of shade to existing canopies! It's portable and rolls nicely into a carry bag so you can always have it with you! Their newest addition the Shaidee bug is made of UPF fabric for sun and bug protection. It can also be placed around a stroller or baby seat in addition to it's main use, baby carriers!

Overall both items worked for us but would be even more optimal for those using a forward facing front carrier (Born or even better the Lillebaby). I do love back carries once my kiddos get over a year old and the original Shaidee is not meant for back carries but the Shaidee bug was definitely useable for both.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above in exchange for an honest review. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

More Embroidery Pics!!

I get asked a lot what all I can create with my embroidery so I wanted to update since my original post here. I have a Brother PE780d which is in essence the same machine as a Brother PE770 (mine just come with some Disney designs). It's a lot of fun but also a lot of work. It's not simply pushing a button!

Carseats for the Boys!!

I was lucky enough to win baby Oliver a new ClickTight Britax Advocate. The ClickTight system lets you move the bulk of the seat out of the way while you get a tight connection every time. It's made in the USA and fits rear facing babies from 5-40 lbs. You can then flip the seat forward facing and use until 60# and/or 49". Considering that my almost 5 year old weighs 35# and is just now 41" this seat has an amazing rear facing capacity for us!! It hasn't arrived yet nor has he luckily but soon we'll have lots of pictures! Until then, here are the boys a few months ago in the Diono RadianRXT and Britax Advocate CS. Our Britax Advocate CS is about to expire (yes all seats expire so check the bottom of yours!!!) so Carter needed a new seat too... keep reading for that info.

Why all the fuss about rear facing? Simply put it's safer by orders of magnitude. You can I as grown mature boned adults would be safer rear facing so think how much better it is for those immature skeletons and oversized heads. If you need visuals this is a great video to check out!!

I know you're wondering about their legs and being uncomfortable but think about it. A leg injury would be much more welcome than a neck injury and studies actually show more leg injuries from forward facing than rear facing. I know as moms we are always posting picture of the crazy way our babies, toddlers, and preschool sleep and play. They tie themselves up in knots on a daily basis. I can honestly say Nolan has never complained about his legs being squished rear facing. If he does crazy stuff like this on a daily basis it's no wonder!!

Nolan will likely be moving to forward facing shortly after his fifth birthday in a few weeks. Mainly it's so that we'll have his current seat in the car for the new arrival. Having him in the rear of the minivan rear facing would be much more confining, difficult to get fastened each time and pretty lonely. Since he's five it's much less of a downgrade in safety now so it seems like the perfect time for us. He's not to thrilled and wants to stay on his current captain's seat in the van and rear facing. We've been talking about it and how big of a boy he's become but it's taking some time!!

Carter got his new big boy seat today. We ordered him a Diono Rainier which is similar to Nolan'ts Diono RadianRXT. The Rainier is a newer seat with high rear facing capabilities and a slim profile. Their angle adjuster helps get a more upright install for the older kiddos rear facing. It rear faces 5-50# and has a very low profile making it great for toddlers and beyond. He rode in it for the first time today and was excited about his new carseat. Tomorrow we'll grab some pictures!!

Drink Duets Review and Savings Code

At all of our parties I usually buy bottled water and juice boxes for the kids. Inevitably at the end, there are lots of half consumed water bottles lying around. My solution has always been to leave out a permanent marker in hopes people can tag their drinks but it often rubs off onto hands or gets into the hands of little ones who like to draw. I got to try out Drink Duets Bottle Tags in advance of Nolan's upcoming birthday party.

This is one of those products that you immediately see and think "why didn't I think of this!" It works well and is simple as can be. Use write on wipe off on the tags instead of a permanent marker and they are reusable. Use stickers of such for kiddo drinks and suddenly they are more fun. Besides bottle tags there are awesome wine bottle labels too. They are stylish and light weight and will not affect your drinking from a nice wine glass.

You can purchase Drink Duets in 12 packs which makes it perfect for you next party! We have a special savings code if you're interested in trying them out. Get 3 packs for the price of 2 with the code: DD3 at Drink Duets Bottle Tags website.


I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free in order to facilitate a review. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

E-book fun for kids

Most of what I read these days is on my phone or kindle. It's so much easier to find a few minutes here and there to pull it out and read than it is to track down my paper book. Plus who doesn't like the ease of flipping pages with one finger and the ability to read at night without a separate light on! Until now, ebooks for the boys hadn't been something I though much about. They like big bright pictures and my phone is just too small... in comes their own phones. When you're married to a software engineer who is specifically an iOS developer you tend to have lots of iPhones lying around. Nolan and Carter each have an old iPhone so I put the kindle app on there and loaded a few ebooks for entertainment.

For Nolan, Amazing Facts about Sharks and Animal Tails. Both books have fun real life pictures combined with animal facts. For us realistic images and facts are important. Nolan remembers what we read to him and loves to quote back what he learns. Amazing Facts about Sharks doesn't treat children as if they can't understand. The vocabulary is advanced which is something I love to see! You can pick up Animal Tails for free on Amazon! Amazing Facts about Sharks is very affordable too!

If you're looking for some scientific fun e-reads for your children. check out what Dan Jackson has to offer on Amazon!


I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free in order to facilitate a review. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

K5 Learning Online

Nolan loves playing on computers since mom and dad do it so often. I love when I can combine learning activities and media time. We've been trying out the K5 Learning Online for their reading and math programs and having fun doing so.

Like most almost five year olds Nolan's attention span isn't very long. When it's for school work actives it's even shorter usually!! Adding in the fun and excitement of a computer and suddenly he's asking to "play".

The K5 system is for preK children through fifth grade and has both reading and mathematics games and activities. Their website has a library you can purchase from and also free downloadable worksheets. Nolan isn't the best with a computer yet but the directions and motions were simple enough that he can play without my direct attention. The system offers over 3,000 online tutorials and you can subscribe in monthly or yearly increments.  The best part is their 14day free trial offer so you can see if this system is right for you! Check it out and post a picture of your little one learning online!

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Bump Pics!!

My mom asked me to compare how I'm carrying Oliver to how I was with the other boys so here is a fun compilation. I'm around 22 weeks in all of these pictures!!

What do you think? I think I'm pretty similar in size in each of the pictures. Oliver himself is extremely low still even more so than the other boys!