Irresistible

Yes, I know that when your baby wakes up in the middle of the night you're not supposed to talk to them, play with them, or get them excited at all. You just go in the room, change the diaper, fix what they need, and leave.

But tell me if YOU could resist this. . .

Walking into Natalie's room at 2 in the morning and finding her sitting up in the crib, so happy that she turned her mobile on all by herself! She gives you the biggest smile in the world and starts laughing and squealing.

My heart melted! I just had to laugh with her and play peek-a-boo through the crib slats for a few minutes. It was one of those middle of the night moments that remind you why being a mom is so great and SO incredibly worth it.

Don't you just love moments like those?

Natalie. . . you truly are irresistible.

Feel the Love. . . the Warm, Fuzzy, Christmasey Love!!!

Think Christmas is over? Ha! Not on our blog!
Bringing you some Christmas spirit to brighten up your dreary January day (see! I posted these a month late on purpose! Just for you!), I bring you. . . our Christmas photos!!!

Recipe for One Wonderful Christmas:

Ingredients-

*1 adorable baby

(Best results if the adorable baby is experiencing her very first Christmas. First Christmas pictures just can't be beat! LOVE them!)

*1 Santa hat (essential for photos! See examples below)

*A few dozen strings of multicolored Christmas lights
(Kirsten is obsessed with them! She calls them "bulbs" and has the best time pointing out bulbs wherever she sees them!)

*1 Christmas tree skirt. Elf hat is optional.

*1 real Christmas tree!
I know everyone has fake trees now, but I don't care. . . those just don't make it a Christmas to me. I love to sit next to our real Noble fir tree, covered in lights and ornaments, and just inhale the scent of fresh pine. I won't ever buy a fake tree!

*A fascinating, unique collection of ornaments from all kinds of places and time periods.
I have one from every year of my life growing up (a tradition I am definitely continuing for my kids!), and I buy ornaments on my travels whenever I can find them.
I think it's my very best collection!

*Houses within driving distance that are decorated out the wazoo like this one:

*1 sweet Nativity scene

*1 enormous Mickey Mouse Santa balloon

*As many reindeer covered in lights as you can find

*1 life-sized dancing Grinch
(Kirsten wasn't scared of that Grinch. . . in fact, she talked about it for the entire trip. What was really making her nervous was the jolly old man in the red suit!)

*1 jolly old St. Nicholas

*1 young child who is frightened out of her wits by Santa Clause
(okay, this is optional. But it gives the recipe some comedy and spice!)

*1 gorgeous temple, surrounded by beautiful lights and statues

*1 statue of Mary, Joseph, and Baby Jesus
(SO precious! Kirsten loved them!)

*1 statue-loving child

(Seriously, she loves statues! Personally I think they're kind of creepy, especially these painted ones, but she was all over them!)

*1 new Christmas dress
(I really wish I'd gotten a much better picture of her in this dress)

*Fun cousins to play with on Christmas Eve

*1 DVD of Disney's 'Small One'. I watch it, and get teary-eyed, every single Christmas Eve. And I love it even more now than I did when I was little.

*Many, many wrapped presents underneath a beautiful tree, ready for Christmas morning!

*1 bright and beautiful Christmas morning!

(Natalie was kind of grumpy until she had her morning nap. This was the best I could do with her!)

*Hundreds of excited expressions and happy smiles!

(If you look closely, you can see her giving the Calico Critter baby a tiny bottle. Precious!)

*Sunny So-Cal weather, suitable for testing out bubble guns
(Really, though. . . I'm dreaming of a white Christmas. Never had one yet! WILL have one someday!)

*1 family picture taken in pj's on the stairs

*Multiple quarts of homemade eggnog. The best in the world!

*1 delicious Christmas breakfast cooked by my Mom

*Lots of satisfied expressions

Directions:

*Mix ALL ingredients together, and add a dash of laughter, two cups of warmth, and ALL the joy, love, and happiness you've got!

The results:

Makes one wonderful, amazing, beautiful Christmas that will be remembered for years to come! Serves: As many as you want!!!

Merry Christmas in January, everyone!

Celery Street Review and Giveaway!

Christmas is over and it's already time to start thinking about Valentine's day gifts! For an amazing selection of thoughtful gifts that are ALL eco-friendly, recycled, reused, and refurbished, go browse through all the beautiful things at Celery Street. It'll truly make your heart happy!

This shop has a HUGE variety of great stuff, including clothing and accessories, candles, gift wrap, toys, home decor and tableware, journals, and countless other things! Here are just a few of my favorite little gems that I discovered on their website:

*The Eco Seatbelt Bag- Pretty much the coolest thing ever! Not only is it beautiful (and RED! I love red bags!), it's also made out of the millions of yards of seatbelt webbing that are discarded by manufacturers for the slightest color variation. Waste not. . . want, why yes I do!!!

*I Heart New York Reusable Water Bottles- I can think of plenty of NYC-lovers who would tote this bottle to work with them every day! A nice deal at $13.99!

*Eco Ladybug Lunch Bag- Any little girl would LOVE to replace the old brown paper bag with this beautiful lunch bag!

*Eco Mini Bone Dog Toy- They've even got something for your pets! Made of eco-fabric and stuffed with fiber-fill created from recycled plastic bottles.

It really does make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside when I buy things that help the earth. Every little bit helps, right? And Celery Street is one of the best stores I've seen to support that. They really make it easy to find eco-friendly gifts for everyone!

My last favorite item is actually up for a giveaway. . .

*The cuddly, cute Polar Bear Plush Toy!
I received one of these to review, and it's SO soft and has the cutest face! I am such a sucker for stuffed animals, especially when they're as cute as this one! And this guy is all green! The plush fibers are actually made from 100% soy fiber. His stuffing is 100% Kapok, a golden silky fiber known for its hypoallergenic softness. Kapok is actually a sustainable rainforest crop that comes from the seed pod of the Kapok tree. (You learn something new every day!)

Here's how to enter to win this eco-friendly cutie:
*Visit Celery Street and leave me a comment on this post, telling me what you'd love to own from their shop!

Get extra entries when you:
1. Follow my blog!
2. Become a fan of my blog on Facebook over here!
3. Go here to sign up for the Celery Street Eco-Friendlist Newsletter!
4. Talk about this giveaway on your blog and link to me!
5. Talk about this giveaway on Facebook and link to me.
6. Tweet about this giveaway.

*Please leave me a separate comment for each entry, and make sure I have a way to contact you! This giveaway will close on February 10'th. Good luck!!!

Adorable Etsy Shop. . . Stitched For You Review and Giveaway!!!

There's just something so beautiful about unique, fun beads in all shapes and sizes. . .

The Stitched For You Etsy shop really plays up these beads and showcases them! I am really digging their jewelry, mostly made with handmade lampwork beads. The shapes and colors are just so fabulous!

These earrings are made with Czech glass beads and the unique lampwork beads, and the pair is only $7.50! Such a great value for such cuteness!!!

A Raspberry and Chocolate Glass Watch. . . I'm in!!!

Wow! When the beads are such show-stoppers as this one, a simple necklace will show it off beautifully.

Visit the Stitched For You Etsy shop to see their entire selection of jewelry, as well as handmade scarves and wedding veils! Each piece of jewelry is unique and one-of-a-kind, and won't be duplicated.

Stitched For You went ahead and made a beautiful necklace for me to give away on my blog! This necklace is silver-plated, and made with beautiful glass beads in ocean-inspired colors! You won't see this necklace listed for sale in their shop either. . . it's one-of-a-kind!

Here's how to enter to win this beautiful necklace:
*Visit the Stitched For You Etsy shop, and leave a comment on this post telling me which piece of jewelry is your favorite!

Get extra entries when you:
1. Follow my blog!
2. Become a fan of my blog on Facebook over here! (If you already are a fan, of course let me know and you'll get your extra entry)
3. Mention this giveaway on your blog and link to me!
4. Talk about this giveaway on Facebook and link to me.
5. Tweet about this giveaway.
6. Add the Stitched For You shop to your Etsy favorites.

*Please leave me a separate comment for each entry, and make sure I have a way to contact you! This giveaway will close on February 10'th. Good luck!!!

Adorable Etsy Shop. . . Roly Poly Crafts Review!

If you're a cloth diaperer, you MUST check out the wonderful diapers from Roly Poly Crafts. I'm telling you, they are the best I've seen! I generally use disposal diapers for my baby, but Roly Poly sent me one of their diapers to review and was I ever impressed!

*They have such great features, including all of the following:

Some other things to note:
*An organic hemp/cotton fleece soaker is included with each diaper.
*Your order can be customized to get any size and color diapers you would like!
*Can you say adorable? These sure make the Pampers I buy look like the ugliest things ever. The watermelon fabric on the diaper I got for Natalie is cute enough to be worn on its own. No clothes required!

I can't believe these diapers are all hand-made by a busy mom of two little kids! She also makes super cute Snack Attack bags that are practical and stylish at the same time!

These fun bags are machine washable and dishwasher-safe, and the inside is laminated to be completely waterproof! I love to throw snacks inside ours and take them on the go.

It always feels great to support other moms who are making fun, functional products that we can all use in our daily lives!!! You can check out her assortment of products in her Etsy shop or visit her website for lots of info about her great diapers!

Deal Alert: Get 20% off anything you want from her shop with the discount code 'rolypoly.' Just put it in the 'Notes to Seller' at checkout and she will refund the difference to you!