My Favourite WAHM Companies - Andrea's Pacifier Clips And More

One of my absolute favourite companies is based out west - Andrea's Pacifier Clips and More

(You can click on the name for her Facebook Page). Andrea can pretty much make anything you want with ribbon, and I have bought from her numerous times since Jaelyn was born.  

For upcoming birthdays, holiday wear and Christmas, this is what I ordered:

Great for stocking stuffers and little add-ons! Jaelyn has been wanting a Cinderella necklace, and I know this one will be perfect for her. She'll also love the matching headband :) And just when we think we have enough soother clips, we can't find any, so they are necessary, but also make great stocking stuffers. I love the grey headband for Luella to wear with her holiday dresses, but I especially love the black   interchangeable headband which you can attach any hairclip to (like her Batman one). Jaelyn is going through a Minnie Mouse stage as well, so the sparkly Minnie clip was a no-brainer. However, she has been asking for a red bow with whitle polka-dots, and I haven't been able to find one anywhere...so I asked Andrea, and she made one just for her. 

The best part? Flat rate shipping of $2.00 in Canada for all of it :)

My Favourite WAHM Companies - Little Demoura Designs

Last week I said I was going to share some of my favourite Work-At-Home-Mom Companies. Some I have shared before, but need repeating, especially since I keep buying from them :) Two years ago, when Jaelyn was celebrating her second Christmas (she had just turned 1) I came across this fantastic doll on Facebook and knew what Jaelyn's Christmas present from us was going to be:

So, with Luella's first Christmas coming, I knew she needed a matching one. You get to choose the skin-tone and hair colour, and can sometimes get an initial placed on the cape (I bought last minute in a sale so didn't have the initial option this time around, but I do have a wonderful Mother-in-law who sews!)

These are made from Little Demoura Designs, and their Facebook page can be found Here

They are beautifully made, and the faces are painted on so there is nothing for your little one to choke on. They also have great rattle toys (Jaelyn had a hammer one that Luella just loves now) and so many other cute dolls! While they are located in the U.S., they do have great customer service, reasonable prices, and the packages always arrive fast! So, if you have a little one and are still looking for something to buy them, I encourage you to check out their page!

Pinterest Pin Review - Mini Meatloaves and Sweet potato fries

My little girl is a carnivore....plain and simple. She likes her meat. So I figured that mini meatloaf would be one of her favs, and it was! I found the pin here: http://www.makeandtakes.com/mini-meatloaves-in-a-muffin-tin

It basically lets you use your own recipe, and gives you cooking instructions. I'm a pretty basic meatloaf cook, so here is what I used:

2 pounds of extra lean ground beef
1 pkg. of lipton onion soup mix
2 eggs
2-3 pieces of bread, made into bread crumbs
...and I squirted in a bunch of ketchup (I am not always a recipe follower!)

Spray your muffin tins with Pam, and put in mixture. After making it, I would suggest not having the meat come up past the top of the pan - probably about 1/2 inch below it would be perfect. The pin also suggested making a little hole, or crater, and putting something in it. I of course used a little dallop of ketchup :) then bake at 375 for 30 minutes.

I also made sweet potato fries, using this pin: http://www.wikihow.com/Roast-Sweet-Potatoes
Again, a simple recipe - I just used one sweet potato cut up, and some oil. I have made these twice now, and they turn out much better if you watch that you don't use too much oil, and if you cook them by themselves (without something else in the oven)...or they will be soggy! I have discovered that I LoVE sweet potato fries! My family...they don't like them so much. The mini meatloaves on the other hand were a hit.....carnivores.....

Pinterest Pin Review - Chocolate Peanut Butter Mug Cake

My husband and I were wishing we had bought some cookies, or candy...or anything really to snack on. But, alas, we had nothing. I had read about make at home mug cakes on Pinterset, and thought I'd give one a go - you can find the pin here: http://eatdrinkcraft.blogspot.ca/2012/03/best-chocolate-mug-cake-no-serioulsy.html

It was a fairly simple recipe, and it looked like a too-small amount at first, but it is soooooo good!

Here is the recipe:
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon of sugar (or to taste)
2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch salt
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon oil
handful of mini chocolate chips (I used just regular ones)
1 Tbs peanut butter (or caramel, jam, nutella, almond butter, etc)

In a small mug combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt until no lumps remain. Stir in the milk and oil until smooth. Make sure to scrape your fork around the edges of the cup so you don't get pockets of dry flour. Mix in the chocolate chips. Drop the peanut butter into the chocolate mix and push it down to submerge. Bake in the microwave on high for 1 minute. You may need to add or subtract 5-10 seconds depending on your microwave, but don’t be tempted to overcook or it will be dry. It should still be moist on the bottom and will continue cooking as it sets.

Give it a try, you'll love it!

BIG Bibs! A Review...

Yep, it's time for another review!  Now, before you start thinking that I've gone on some mad shopping spree, let me remind you that many of these things I've been reviewing lately are items that most moms get for their kids...I have just been making the decision to purchase them from Work At Home Moms and local/Canadian companies.  It has been a neat experience, and I think these moms/companies deserve to have some recognition for their hard work and beautiful products.

Rant over...on with the review :)  

Our little Houdini of a daughter has become increasingly unsatisfied with her current bib situation.  Translation?  Her little Velcro bibs only stay on her tiny body for about 10 seconds before she rips them off and either throws them on the floor, or hands them to me.  As she experiments with more foods, she also needs more material covering her little clothes...and I don't want to change her clothes and increase my laundry production unless it is absolutely necessary.  We needed bibs...BIG bibs.

I contacted one of my friends who is "in the know" about great hand-made bibs (You can find the link to her blog, "As Time Flies", on my blog's home page), and she pointed me towards a great little company called Nic & Elli (You can find their Facebook page here)  I decided to give them a try.  I contacted them, and picked out two bibs to try out....and I SOOO wish I ordered more!  

I am not a fan of plastic bibs, plastic backed bibs, bibs with little food flaps, etc.  I want a bib that will last, that Jaelyn can't take off, that will grow with her....and one I can chuck in the washer and dryer.  I was not disappointed with the bibs from Nic & Elli!

These bibs come with two snap positions, so they can grow with your little one, and they cover the entire front of her!  Not to mention that they are so cute :)  They also have a super-soft backing on them, are at a great price, and wash beautifully.

She was great to work with, I was able to pay through email, and my package arrived fast.  It is a family-run company - named after her two children, and she and her mother do all of the sewing!  They have a lot of other items, too, such as cloth diapers and liners and sandwich bags.  

So, if you are in the market to purchase some bibs for your little one, I highly recommend Nic & Elli - and to those of you who are looking for baby shower gifts....may I suggest skipping the store-bought tiny bibs, and getting the new mom-to-be some bibs that will grow with their child.  These are made by a mom who knows :)

The two bibs that I ordered

Look at the size difference between the 'normal' bib, and the one from Nic & Elli's!

My happy little camper :)

Clippies, Clippies, Clippies! A Review...

I know, it's Wednesday, so my page is supposed to be wordless.  I've discovered something...I am usually able to post on Wednesdays, and sometimes that is the only day I can.  As a mom, you have to take whatever time you can! So I have decided that some weeks will be wordless while others, like today, won't :)

As you know, I have been trying to make a conscious effort to support Work At Home Moms (WAHM) - those who have home businesses so they can spend more time with their families, as well as trying to shop local/Canadian/North America.  What I have discovered is that there are so many awesome and creative products out there that you can't buy in a local store!

I recently heard of a company through Bundles And Buzz - you can check out their awesome Facebook Page here: Bundles And Buzz Facebook Page

I was in desperate need of hair clips that would stay in Jaelyn's hair.  We always get comments from strangers about her beautiful red hair, but she has unfortunately inherited her mother's fine hair.  It kinda goes everywhere.  She also has discovered how to disassemble every store-bought soother/pacifier clip known to man that you can buy in a local store.   That means when we put her in the car, there is always a game of "Where did Jaelyn throw her soother?" every time we need to take her out.

Well, I had heard so many great things about Andrea's Pacifier Clips & More (You can find her Facebook Page Here - Andrea's Pacifier Clips And More Facebook Page)...that I decided to give her a try!  Her prices are fantastic, and she has SOOOOOOOO many ribbons and designs to choose from (and I mean a lot...it took a long time to decide!).  I checked out her page, emailed my order and was able to pay with an email money transfer.  Quick and easy!  She was great to work with, is Canadian, and my package arrived fast.

I had tried larger clips from another company before...not sure where they ended up, as they didn't stay in her hair.  One of them didn't even make it out the door of the house before it went missing.  Andrea has "mini snap clips", and no matter how rough my little girl is, they stay in.  Case and point - I put one in her hair 2 hours ago, and it is still in.  

The pacifier clips come with either snap ends (for soothers with handles) or elastic ends (for soothers without handles).  Our little Jaelyn can't undo the snaps or the metal clip on the other end.  Problem solved :)

  I definitely will be buying from her in the future.  She also sells other great products like mitten clips, and other goodies I would love to try.  I encourage all you moms to check out her page and website, and for all you non-moms to think of it when you are looking for gifts to give!

I was sent an actual picture of my order before it was finalized to make sure it was what I wanted.

Yes, I know....a hairdresser I am not...but there is hope to contain her ginger locks!

Another shot....yes, she is teething....again....

One of the pacifier clips

Three Months Cable Free...And Loving It!

My husband and I just made the realization that it has been three months since we got rid of cable completely, and purchased a Boxee Box.  We hardly even noticed it was gone!  We do still have Netflix (and yes, the Canadian version), and we can stream pretty much any show or movie through boxee.  We can also play videos, some apps, and picture slideshows from my ipad and Darren's iphone.  It was a little investment, but with the cost of cable, to has more than paid for itself, and is now starting to save us money.  Since having Jaelyn, we haven't watched much tv anyway, but when we get a chance, we like to watch a whole tv series.  We've just started watching Fringe :)

Not a great picture, but look how small it is :)

As a side note on Boxee Box...it is not for those unfamiliar with technology...if you are not good with using the internet/computer, then it may not be right for you.  But if you are interested in saving money, you should check it out!

December

Well, Christmas has come and gone, and we are almost on to a new year (hard to believe!).  December seems like a whirlwind for my family.  Our little Jaelyn turned one on the 10th, Darren and I celebrated our 14th Anniversary on the 19th (and by celebrated, I mean that we acknowledged it in passing, and he bought me flowers), my parents came on the 21st, and, well, you know when Christmas was.  Leading right up to the big day, Darren was working overtime hours about 14 hours a day), and I work retail...so we didn't see much of each other.  Life is getting back to normal now...whatever that is.

We tried to get Jaelyn gifts from some "work at Home Moms" this year, and tried to follow the "something she wants, needs, wears and reads" rule for Christmas/birthday.  We bought her a Super Snuggle Baby and Hammer Rattle from Little DeMoura Designs - http://littledemouradesigns.com
 which is the something she wants 
(well, she is really too little to want, but we knew she would like them!)

We got her a new Stocking from Comfort Cove Designs
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Comfort-Cove-Designs/169454069781139?ref=ts&fref=ts

which is something she needs.

We got her new Supergirl pj's for Christmas Eve, and a new little board book too, which was something 
she'll wear and read 
- not from a work at home mom, but practical nonetheless.
We tried not to go overboard (pretty easy when you have no money, haha), but also tried to make it 

memorable :)

If you have a chance to check out those two companies, please do!  They have wonderful products 

and are great to work with and order from!

Her new stocking *love!*

  

Jaelyn in her new pj's and with her Super Baby!

Holding her hammer rattle she just got in her stocking!

Happy Baby!

I hope you and yours had a great time, too!