Halo Sleepsack - Product Review & Giveaway!

We like to keep it nice and cool in our house at night. We have a thick, fluffy comforter and we're always practically buried in that thing. It's concerning to think about Asher sleeping in just one layer without his swaddle when we are across the house covered in three! A few of his sleeper outfits don't even have footies, either. Luckily, there is a safe blanket option that doesn't carry the risk of putting a blanket in the crib (a big time no-no).

Hello, HALO SleepSack!

We tried out one of the new designs of the HALO SleepSack Wearable Blanket and I am so happy to have come across this amazing product! First of all, it is 100% cotton, which is perfect here in Florida. Breathable fabric is a must. It's an excellent way to ensure that Asher is warm during the night (especially those little toes!) and I honestly think he sleeps better when he has it on. Another perk of the SleepSack is that little feet can't escape through the crib slats anymore. Hurray! 

The zipper is inverted, zipping from bottom to top, which makes diaper changes quick and easy. The only thing is that you will need the sleepers that snap rather than zip. I'm a fan of the PJs with snaps, anyways, because they just seem more comfortable. The new SleepSack designs are super cute, too. I'm a sucker for anything cute.

Asher loves his SleepSack and I am definitely going to have to invest in a few more, especially with cool weather just around the corner! I'm excited that they also have designs with foot openings for ages 12mo - 5T so that little walkers can stay warm safely and without kicking their blanket off during the night. Pretty neat!

The new 100% cotton SleepSack Wearable Blanket designs are available at Target stores, Target.com, or amazon.com. Connect with HALO on Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest.

Or... You can WIN ONE! Enter the giveaway below for a chance to win a HALO SleepSack. Winner announced in 1 week!

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Stale Cereal, Mama, Dada, & Doggy

Our Labor Day weekend was productive and eventful! We cleaned out our kitchen pantry which was much, much needed - even more so than I realized. I won't miss the cans of soup from 2008 or the box of stale cereal that had been taking up precious shelf space for months. We now actually have a place to store our baby formula and rice cereal! It's the small things in life, it really is.

This weekend also marked a very exciting milestone for baby Asher. He said "Mama" and "Dada"! Check it out...




We also think we may have heard "Doggy" but the jury's still out on that one. How exciting! These are definitely some of the greatest moments in parenting. And the 6 month cuddles... I die!

This month also marked another record breaker at our shop. Holy moly - we are busier than ever! I have to apologize for my lack of blog posts but this momma has been busy, busy, busy. Thank goodness that 6 1/2 months also brought some self-entertainment skills and Asher is able to play happily on his own for a little while. Our Pack and Plays have finally become our go-to lifesaving baby gear during the day. We keep one at our shop and have one in our living room now, too. He actually took a nap in it while we were getting our clean on in the pantry. Woop-woop!

This week is going to be another hectic one while we continue to fulfill the orders that have been pouring in throughout the past month. Asher's rearin' and ready to go with Signing Time and his Pack and Play. :)

Enjoy our latest iPhone favs and have a wonderful short week!

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Tasty Shades: Mint Candy Apple & Cream Puff

You may remember my saying a little while back how I haven't painted my nails with anything other than clear polish in a long, long time. I might go as far as to say it may even have been... 8+ years..? Well, a few days ago, I broke that mold. I got a manicure during my mommy spa day and I chose to have my nails painted in color! Woo-hoo! Don't get too excited yet. It was a nude. :) I tested the water and I liked what I saw. So now, I am jumping on the nail polish bandwagon and here are the first additions to my up and coming nail polish stash (is it sickening that these are the only colors of nail polish I own...???):

ESSIE Mint Candy Apple

Vinylux Top Coat, Cream Puff, & Powder My Nose

The Vinylux nail polish boasts a 7+ day wear and an under 9 minute drying time. The "Powder My Nose" color is the one I had put on at the spa and obviously I was pleased since I couldn't help but buy a tube of my own. I used the "Cream Puff" to give myself french tips on my toes and it wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be applying a thin line with a large brush. I actually think it is harder to control those tiny nail art brushes. I can't wait to see if these white tips last an entire week. That would be amazing!

The Essie "Mint Candy Apple" is such an awesome shade. I think I have an addiction to this color - it was our wedding color back when we tied the knot. Maybe it holds some nostalgia to me. Whatever the case, I love it to pieces.

I hope I'm not crazy to have gone with such a pop of color on my nails with Asher's 6 month/our family portrait session tomorrow. We rescheduled the session from a few weeks ago due to a severely sunburned daddy who may or may not have worn his sunglasses and no sunscreen and ended up looking like a critter of the night. ;) The polish ties into our color scheme so fingers crossed (pun intended!) that it doesn't stick out like a sore thumb (another pun intended! Haha).

Hopefully I'll have some fun stories and exciting pics to share after this long weekend. I need to get the dust off my camera and get a snappin'! Happy Labor Day, everyone!

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Marriage After Baby

Maintaining a strong relationship after having a baby is not an easy thing to do. There are so many changes. There are so many added responsibilities and there's much less time to get everything done. Much less. Sleep deprivation is running rampant and postpartum hormones are out to stir things up at any chance they get - thanks for that, hormones.

They say that men's marital satisfaction actually shows an increase during the few months following the birth of a first child. Then, a few months down the line it shows a steady decline. For women, they say the decrease in satisfaction happens immediately (mostly due to hormonal and any drastic lifestyle changes), although, in some cases, the "new baby high" lasts for both parents throughout the first year and then the reality of parenting kicks in sometime after the baby's first birthday.

For majority of couples there seems to be a common denominator in this decrease in marital satisfaction - the division of responsibilities and a lack of communication. Ding, ding, ding, ding! 

I'm not sure where we fall with those statistics. We haven't necessarily had a decrease in marital satisfaction, but I do think we have to work a little harder. We have our moments and they definitely happen more often than they used to. 

I do think, however, that the simple acknowledgment that this is something very common and taking the time to talk about our responsibilities - who will do the majority of 'x' chore and who will take care of 'y' - can make a WORLD of a difference. The power of a conversation can be amazing.

- Some people suggest to get your communication on during walks with the baby. This way, you both are looking ahead rather than face to face which eliminates misread body language or damage from unintentional eye rolls. -

For the past week, John and I have spent more time together than we have in a long, long time. In this short time, I feel like our relationship and understanding of one another has been revived, in a way. We both see how hard the other works, whether on the job or at home, and we are both appreciative. But I think the real game changer has simply been that we have been TALKING. We've talked about work, about our business, about our baby and our home. We've talked about chores and how much its going to suck to have to do an emergency clean up before the bug man comes to spray the house. ;) But we've also had the chance to talk about the small things, the silly things, and the unimportant things. The things that connect us and make us laugh together. The things that were the only things before there were other things. (You follow?) 

Like I always say, I know everyone and every situation is different and I am not an expert by any means. It's still early in the game over here. But in our case, communication has been key at this point. Taking the time to connect to one another again and to BE FRIENDS again, has made us a better team and with that we can be better parents - happy parents.

A little time apart spent with friends is important, too!

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