Fabulous Finds... Crystal Light Mocktails!

So what's your favorite summer drink that you use when entertaining or just hanging out in the backyard?

My favorite labor-intensive summer drink is Brazilian limeade (soooooooo good!!!), and if I want something quick and easy to make I've usually gone for pink lemonade koolaid. Too bad neither of those are summer diet-friendly! I was really happy to be able to test out the new Crystal Light Mocktails. . . they contain just 5 calories per serving and come in 3 limited-edition, non-alcoholic flavors!

I got to try out Mojito and Margarita, and was surprised by how much I really like them! I don't even like the typical flavor of margaritas, but this one is yummy and light! I always love finding non-alcoholic drinks that are light on calories but still fun for entertaining, and these fit perfect! I thought they were especially refreshing when you mix them up with lots of ice and fresh fruit!

All the Crystal Light Mocktails are available in multi-serve canisters that have five 2-quart packets in them. Just right for a summer party or bbq!

My disclaimer: I was compensated for my time for sharing this information as part of the Crystal Light campaign hosted by One2One Network. All opinions are my own.

Please Don't Laugh At Me... For Posting About Easter In July!!!

I find it hard to imagine an Easter (or any holiday, for that matter!) when I don't have an adorable baby to pose and take cute pictures of. This one I took of my cute Brookie bunny has got to be my favorite EVER!

All three of my girls getting ready for the Easter Egg hunt. . .

It's a good thing we went to an Easter Egg hunt the day before Easter, because Easter Sunday was rainy and cold in Seattle! But the day before was absolutely beautiful! It was Natalie's first Easter Egg hunt and boy, did she have fun huntin' down those eggs...

But not quite as much fun as eating all the sugar! Chocolate eggs!!! Kirsten and Natalie were both on a sugar frenzy, and really who can blame them?

I just love that messy, chocolate-stained face!

The next morning...

Look what the Easter bunny brought us!

Our very own baby in a basket! SCORE!!!

{Okay, this might tie with my other favorite Easter picture of Brooke. I never had a baby small enough to fit in an Easter basket before, since the other two girls were close to a year old on their first Easters. I took full advantage!}

Here's what the Easter bunny really brought...

Kirsten immediately picked out what I knew she'd love most. . . strange, squishy, ball-shaped chicks that I found in the dollar section at Michael's. Or the Easter bunny found, I mean. Kirsten loves anything squishy.

Natalie loved the candy (surprise!) and the cute board books about Thumper and his sisters. And for my own basket (that I bought and filled)... a whole box of See's, all to myself! Happy Easter to mommy!

Everyone was happy with their Easter gifts!

Here is my attempt at a nice Easter photo of all the girls together in their Easter dresses that Grandma made for them:

Massively unsuccessful. ;)

At least Easter dinner was a huge success! I made the very best batch of orange rolls I've ever made before! I was just a little proud of them.

We also had honey-baked ham (of course!), four cheese potatoes au gratin, corn on the cob, and pistachio pudding salad!

Happy Easter!
{And just for the record, I promise to actually post my 4'th of July photos in July}

Fun Finds: Beaba Bib'expresso Bottle Warmer!

I've been reviewing the brand new Beaba Bib'expresso Bottle Warmer for a few months now. I have decided this amazing contraption is the Rolls Royce of bottle warmers. Seriously. It puts my old bottle warmer to shame. This one blows it out of the park!

Here are the many reasons why this appliance rocks my world:

*It really does warm up any size bottle in 30 seconds or less. It is FAST!
*All of the water stays contained inside a closed compartment while it heats up. Then you press a lever and it dispenses straight into the bottle. No water everywhere, no steam rising up and burning your hand (my old bottle warmer did that), no guess-work about how much water you need to use and whether or not the bottle will be too hot!!! Genius!!!
*You can prepare a bottle one-handed, while holding your baby who doesn't understand why they have to wait for their food.
*Thanks to direct water control, the water is always the perfect temperature. It simplifies the process of bottle preparation with a patented, unique water flow system that reduces air bubbles and eliminates hot spots when mixing powdered formula. I've never once had it be too hot or too cold. It's also BPA-free, so everything about this bottle warmer is safe.
*It has a built-in self-cleaning steam system that cleans the inside of it, where the water goes. You never even have to wash it!
*It actually looks NICE on my counter! Slim, modern, not just like another piece of baby equipment. Bonus points for style!
*It includes a microwaveable sterilizer/bottle compartment that can store up to three bottles and keep them away from dust.
*After your baby grows up, you can use it to prepare water for tea or hot cocoa. Nice!!!

It's amazing how much easier my life has become, just from switching from my old bottle warmer to the Beaba Bib'expresso. I love it, and I'm so lucky that I got to test out this awesome new product!

You can watch a demo of the bottle warmer in action here and buy it on Amazon here!

My disclaimer: Thank you to Beaba for providing me with a Beaba Bib'expresso to review free of charge! While this was provided for me to review, the opinions I've expressed here are solely my own and represent my honest viewpoint. Beaba, Clever Girls Collective, and I promote Blog With Integrity.

Winners!

I apologize that I took so long to post some of these winners. Time just got away from me, wow! So here are some new winners!

Winner of the baby shoes from the BirdyBoots Etsy shop is. . . #82!
samamfee said... I heart birdy boots on etsy

Winner of the baby shoes from CozyToes by KathyDee Etsy shop is. . . #73!
Breaking Free From Old Ways said... I like the grey and plum shoes

Winner of the $50 gift certificate to The Pretty Peacock is. . . #88!
@nola727 said... I like the Sweet Love ring

Winner of the LumaTweeze Pro kit is. . . #46!
~dab said...I'd like to try http://www.tvtopten.com/Slap-Chop.html

Winner of the Summer Sweet Etsy Shop $20 gift certificate is. . . #49!
Katarzyna said... "Heart" the shop on Etsy as Kaziuta

Winner of the Yoplait Kids Prize Pack is. . . #29!
Raven In A Blue Room said... my kids love strawberry-banana yogurt

Winner of the Emariecreations Sweet Charms Etsy shop giveaway is. . . #22!
Amber said... I posted about this giveaway on my FB status

Winner of the Marissa Fleur Handmade Flower Pin giveaway is. . . #52!
Sandra S. said... I liked Marissa Fleur on Facebook

Thanks to everyone who entered! I have emailed all the winners and they have 48 hours to respond, or I will choose new winners. Congrats to the winners!

Fun Finds. . . BARE Bottles!

As a bottle-feeding mom, I'm always on the lookout for new advancements in bottle technology. I also love supporting companies and products that are made by other moms. With BARE Bottles, I found both at once! I'm intrigued by the concept of this bottle. It was designed by a mom who was looking for a good solution to some feeding problems her own baby was having.

Some of the coolest features of this brand new bottle concept are:

*A patented air-plug ensures 100% air-free feeding every time!
*Vents allow an air stream into the bottle to stop nipple collapsing. This reduces gas and colic that come from air ingestion.
*BARE is designed to mimic all the aspects of breastfeeding. From the way the nipples extend inside the baby's mouth to the way milk is dispensed only by suction and a natural flow that's controlled by the baby's suction strength, BARE is designed to be very close to breastfeeding.
*These bottles are perfect if you're planning to feed your baby with a combination of breast and bottle, since the nipple tip extends up to two times on suckling, just like the breast. It avoids nipple confusion and promotes a proper latch technique.
*The bottle is easy to put together and take apart, and snaps together with just two pieces.
*BARE is the most effective bottle at preventing bacteria. The air-plug maintains an air-tight, air-free movement. This minimizes back wash and spit into the bottle and keeps milk fresh longer.
*BARE is made in the USA and is BPA, PVC, lead, and pthalate-free. The bottles are made of the safest materials available.
*Promotes self-feeding by allowing baby to drink from any position.

BARE will be available on store shelves in January 2012. Because the development and production of BARE is being funded by the mom inventor, we hope moms will visit the BARE project page. Here, moms can support the project and be the first to receive these new, revolutionary bottles. This project sounds so great and it allows us to support other moms. Anything contributed will help this project!

My disclaimer: I did not receive these bottles to review, but I did receive compensation for my time in posting about this project. I only post about projects that I support and believe in.

Right Now. . .

Sometimes I feel like I'm constantly just trying to catch up on this blog (case in point: still need to post about Easter! Yikes!), and I never get to post what's going on right NOW. So here are just a few of the things making my life extra happy right now. . .

*All the endless cute photo opps that pop up when you're around babies. Especially ones as cute as this little guy, Rennan. I just want to steal him, he's so adorable! Is he making anybody else want a baby boy? (I want one BAD!) I took this while we were camping with his family at the beach, and it just makes me smile!

*My new mom's group! I met such a fantastic group of moms in a meetup group that was closed by the organizers, so me and my friend Michaela decided to start a brand new group a couple of weeks ago. And I'm having SO much fun filling up the calendar with fun events and places to play for the summer! I feel so lucky to have such great friends who want to explore with us!
(If you're in the Seattle area, we'd love to have you join, new members are always welcome! You can find our group here: http://www.meetup.com/northsoundexploreandplay/)

*Swimming season! My kids are so crazy happy in the water, and it's pretty cute to watch them have such a great time. It's Splash Week at YMCA and I've been doing a little swim class with Natalie for the week. She's a cute little fish! (She doesn't use the arm floaties in the class, but aren't they adorable? They remind me of my childhood swimming in my grandma's pool!)

*Oh yeah, speaking of the YMCA. . . I joined a couple of months ago, and I love it! My kids have mostly gotten used to the childcare they have there (included in the membership, up to two hours each day!) and they're crazy about the outdoor playground there. And I've discovered my absolute favorite way to work out: ZUMBA! Gosh, those classes are so fun! I try to do two regular Zumba classes and one Zumba Toning class each week. All the different instructors and the variety make it really enjoyable!

*Bright, gorgeous colors that just look like summer! Like these poppies I bought at a Farmer's market. They only lasted about one day, but they were beautiful!

*I'm a firm believer that variety is the spice of life! That's why I'm always on the lookout for new experiences, new people to meet, new restaurants, new parks, new places to explore! Variety makes me happy. :)

*I'm not the craftiest person in the world (my grand ideas tend to turn into big disappointments), but I did love these interchangeable flowers I made for my friend's baby shower. I singed all the edges with a tea light candle, put velcro on them and a white onesie, and turned it into a onesie outfit. I need to make a bunch more for my own girls!

Now that I've posted about NOW, I'm feeling even a little bit happier. :)

Tulips!

I hope these photos make you want to sit back, relax, and enjoy a beautiful April day at the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival.

That's what we did, and it was a beautiful day. . . in a windy, cold, and extremely muddy kind of way. ;) But hey, it didn't rain on us!

I just love photographing gorgeous flowers!

{Isn't that bright purple and white combo delicious? I could almost eat them!}

{Love the way the raindrops cling to these tulips, you can see it if you click the photo to make it full-screen!}

The whole family!

The girls had a great time running through the daffodil fields, and I had fun chasing after them, trying to capture good photos!

I could not keep Natalie away from all those muddy rain puddles! And it would have been impossible, since they were everywhere! She had a great time in them.

Some family shots. . . the best it was going to get in all the wind and mud!

The girls also loved exploring the flower gardens, which weren't quite as muddy.

We want to go again next year, on a less-crowded, sunny, warm weekday. {Yes, they DO exist in Seattle in April, I promise!}
It was worth it though! I think we got some really cute pictures and we all had so much fun!