Product Review: Lovies For My Babies

Lovies For My Babies Etsy Store

     Lovies For My Babies is a wonderful store on Etsy.  I have ordered from there on several occasions. Sugar Baby carries a doll we ordered from there EVERYWHERE. It is a baby in a penguin costume she named "Pookin" as she could not say penguin when she was younger. It even has a little heart on it that has her name on it. We also had one made that looks like Sugar Baby and she plays with it quite a bit.

     I spoke with the owner of the store Hannie about why she opened her shop. She says, "Well I always loved sewing and when I had my daughter I wanted to make her a safe, soft and cute security doll that she could attach to. I also wanted to see if she'd use it as a chew toy when she was teething and it worked. She liked the hands and when i put some water and popped it in the freezer it was even better. I never liked the hard rubbery teething toys out there. So I discovered Etsy while watching Martha Stewart one day and thought I'd give it a try and to my surprise they actually started selling. It took some evolving over the years but I'm pretty happy with the end results. 
But mostly it's just a hobby. I am not able to make it a real business since I have two young kids and also going back to school. "

     Hannie makes quality dolls that are safe of even infants as they can be made without buttons. She takes custom designs as well. I think we will be ordering a Super Hero baby from her for Sugar Baby's upcoming birthday. I also wet the dolls hands and put it in the freezer when Sugar Baby was teething and it seemed to help her a lot. Her dolls are well made and made of minky so they are very soft. She uses bright colors and cute animal designs that Sugar Baby loves. She also will add your child's name to the toy. If you are looking for a well loved baby for your child Lovies For My Babies is certainly the way to go. 

     Do any of you have Etsy stores? Are there any Etsy stores that are your favorite? I would love to feature them on my blog. 

Later Ya'll

Rachel

This Past Week

What all has happened in my life this week? Well I started blogging again, I took my Psychomotor Examination at the EMT-B level and I am anxiously await the results, had a wonderful Valentine's Day with my beautiful family. I am very excited to get my test results as it will mean that if I pass I can take my National Registry Exam and I will be ready to start my release packet! I really enjoy the EMS field and it makes me happy to help people.

As for valentine's day, Sugar Baby and I have a Momma-Daughter date and went to get our toes done. She LOVED it.  Then when I was taking my exam she had Daddy Time and they went out to eat and got me presents which I didn't get until this morning. When I woke up this morning my husband had left notes all over the house for me to find an a beautiful bouquet of flowers that Sugar Baby help pick out.

The rest of the week doesn't have much going on. We are going to meet up with my MIL tonight since she is in town (YAY!) and Sugar Baby is going to her Bio Dad's house for her weekend visitation, she is going to stay until Monday evening so she can spend the holiday weekend with him and his family. My husband is going to spend the weekend in Norfolk for his little brother's soccer tournament. He also plays soccer and is pretty good at it. I am going to be at the station most of the weekend riding the medic unit. I hope I learn something new this weekend.

What kind of week did you have? What are your weekend plans?

Later Ya'll,
Rachel

Round-Up Wednesday

One of the things I woud like to do on this blog is talk about blogs that I read that go hand and hand with my views on attachement parenting and natural living. Each week I will post some links to blog posts that I have seen during the week that spoke to me. So let's get started.

This first one really stood out to me as I was a single mom when Sugar Baby was very little. It is from Kveller.com and was written my Mayim Bialik who has written a book, Beyond The Sling, which is about her experience with AP. I have not read it yet but it is certainly on my list. Anyway, this particular post is about practicing AP as a single or working mother, which I was a single mother when Sugar Baby was younger, and I am still a working mother.

Attachment Parenting For Single Moms By: Mayim Bialik

This second post I found to be very relevant to many conversations that go on today. There is much debate about how AP will effect the child. Obviously I think it is a great idea since that is how I parent, but there are many people who have confronted me about it saying Sugar Baby will be needy and self entitled and a spoiled brat. I however believe that by her needs being met as an infant and toddler she will be more independent as she grows up.  I do not believe co-sleeping will make her co-dependent.

Attachement Parenting: What It's Not By Alternative Mama


The next post comes from Green Child Magazine which is an awesome magazine about AP and green living. I wore Sugar Baby consistently until she was 18 months, now I only do occasionally, but we both LOVED it. I am a big supporter of baby-wearing I think is helps cement the bond between parent and child. This post is a basic overview of baby-wearing.

The Art Of Baby Wearing By: Amity Hook-Sopko

My final post for this week is about how to handle it when someone criticizes you for AP. I have been told many negative things about raising Sugar Baby AP style and her bio dad doesn't seems to think much of it either, and that's ok its not the parenting style for everyone. I am a firm believer that each parent should parent in a way that suits their child and them self.  This post gives some tips to help yourself out when you encounter people who might not be openminded about AP.

Attachment Parenting: Dealing With Criticism

I hope you enjoy these posts as much as I did. What posts have you found that really spoke to you?
Do you have a post you have written you would like me to read?

Later Ya'll

Down Home Cookin'

Southern Belle Tumblr

My Daddy’s family is from Tennessee and my Momma’s family is from Arkansas and I consider myself a modern Southern Belle if you will.  My china pattern is new, my silverware is stainless steel, and I drink UNSWEET tea. I still say “Yes Ma’am” and “No Sir”, everyone is my Darlin’, and no on leaves my house hungry and they always have a plate to take home.

            My favorite thing that my Pawpaw fixes is a smoked Boston Butt. He smokes it all day and pulls it and makes Pulled Pork Sandwiches with it. It is the most Delicious BBQ is all of Arkansas, if not the whole South. As much as I love his BBQ we can’t make it down there from Virginia very often due to my job and I also have no room for a huge smoker like the one he uses. So I found a way to make it in my crock-pot!  You can’t have a Pulled Pork Sandwich without Slaw and Hot Sauce so I will include the recipes for those as well, but first the Pulled Pork.

Pulled Pork

Serves 16

Ingredients:

• 4- pound boneless pork loin roast
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard powder
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 onions, chopped
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup vinegar
• 2 cups chicken stock

Perpetration:

1. Cut the roast into 3 pieces. In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, mustard powder, chili powder, salt, and cayenne pepper. Mix it up (I prefer to use a whisk when mixing dry ingredients because I feel I get a more even mixture that way).
2. Sprinkle the dry rub over the pork roast and rub it into the surface.
3. Cover and marinate the pork roast in the fridge overnight. In the morning place onions and garlic in the bottom of a 5-6 quart crock-pot. Put the pork roast on top.
4. Pour the vinegar and chicken stock over top of all of it. Cover and cook on low for 8-9 hours.
5. Remove pork from the crock-pot and shred it by using 2 forks.

PawPaw’s Hot Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 64oz. jug of vinegar
• ½ cup salt
• ½ cup red pepper

 Preparation:

1. Mix all ingredients in a large stock pot.
2. Bring to a boil
3. Let simmer for 20-30 minutes

My Momma’s Slaw

8-10 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 large head of cabbage, finely shredded
• 1 medium sweet onions, finely chopped
• 2 carrots, grated

Dressing:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1 teaspoon celery seed
• 1 cup cider vinegar

Preparation:

1. Combine coleslaw vegetable ingredients; chopped cabbage, chopped bell pepper, chopped onions, and grated carrots in a large serving bowl. 
2. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine remaining ingredients; bring to a boil. Simmer, stirring, until sugar is dissolved
3. pour over vegetables and toss well. Cover and refrigerate overnight. 

That is a little bit of my past and what I am about. I'm Southern and proud of it. What kinds of Family Recipes do ya'll have? I would love to feature them on Tuesdays! Email them to crunchymomma88@gmail.com 

Later Ya'll

Product Review Monday

     I LOVE LOVE LOVE California Baby. They use all natural ingredients in their products. They allergy test all their products as I said in the review above. My daughter has eczema so I searched for a few months and tried many different products and most of them helped but once we started using the California Baby Eczema Lotion her eczema generally stays cleared up. When the pollen count is super high we still have to use the ointment from her pediatrician. These are high quality products and I would recommend them to anyone who has a new baby or a child with sensitive skin.  Featured in this review are California Baby Hair Detangler, California Baby Diaper Rash Cream, and California Baby Bubble Bath.

     Another product that we have that is not featured is the California Baby Diaper Area Wash. It is very gentle and smells nice. I use it still even though my daughter is potty trained because sometimes she doesn't always wipe the best so I use it to go behind her and finish the job. It is also allergy tested and does not irritate sensitive skin. What have your experiences with California Baby products been? Is there something you prefer? Check out California Baby on Facebook and Twitter Next week I will be reviewing a workout class. It is called Flaunt! and it is super fun.

Later Ya'll

It's Time

     I have been going back and forth on the idea of having a blog for a while now. I tried a crafting blog but it quickly became too time consuming because I was always doing something with my daughter, and as I was saying something to my husband about that I thought, wait a minute! I could blog about parenting! I hope to use this blog to bring you reviews of baby and kid products, craft projects and kid friendly meals, discuss attachment parenting, and tips on keeping your marriage fun and fresh even after you have little ones. I hope you all wil enjoy it as much as I think I will and feel free to email me with any questions or topics you would like me to cover!

     I guess the best thing to do in my first post is put some names to faces.

This is me! My name is Rachel and I am a volunteer EMT and a stay at home mom.

This is my husband, he is a computer programmer and is trying to start his own gaming company. 

This is our daughter! She will be 3 soon and is very free spirited.

     Tomorrow I will do a review of some California Baby products! Well Goodnight for now!