Babies

Do you know where you’re going on your next vacation??? I LOVE to travel and if there’s one thing I’ll splurge money on, it’s that (and concert tickets lol). My husband and I set plans and travel when we can. I think next on our list for a “big” vacation is a trip to Disney for the kids in a few years! The husband and I just got home from a vacation sans kids (what a rarity!)–we were celebrating our 5 year anniversary. Mmmm, kinda makes you want to jump in the car or on a plane, right? Research says 70% of people don’t know where they’re going when beginning the trip-planning process. Are you one of them? DoubleTree by Hilton is launching DTour, the first-of-its-kind YouTube channel for the hotel industry, created in collaboration with Google. “DTour offers travelers a whole new way to plan and share trips. It’s so easy — simply visit the site to upload a photo snapped on Instagram or a video from Facebook. Users can also explore other travelers’ favorite photos, videos, tips and stories to get inspired to plan the trips they’ve always wanted to take!” And get ready for this amazing opportunity–DoubleTree is hosting the DTour of a Lifetime competition: six brand ambassadors who will get to travel the world, having adventures of a lifetime, enjoying  DoubleTree by Hilton hospitality, and sharing their travel tips and stories on DTour. AMAZING. Want to find our more?! Join the twitter party on May 21st (this Tuesday!) from 12-1pm EST. We’ll have travel guru @JuliaDimon there to answer all your travel questions so ask away! Here are the details, prizes, and link for you to RSVP: When: Tuesday, May 21, 12noon to 1pm EST Where: Twitter! Follow the #DTourParty hashtag to track the conversation. Find details and RSVP via this Twtvite: http://twtvite.com/dtourparty Hashtag: #DTourParty Prizes: We will award five prizes during the party. Winners will be chosen randomly based on correct responses to trivia questions. Q1 – 1 tin of DoubleTree by Hilton chocolate chip cookies Q2 – 2 tins of DoubleTree by Hilton chocolate chip cookies Q3 – 3 tins of DoubleTree by Hilton chocolate chip cookies Q4 – 4 tins of DoubleTree by Hilton chocolate chip cookies Grand Prize (Q5) – Complimentary two-night stay at any DoubleTree by Hilton location Hosts: @theMotherhood, @CooperMunroe, @EmilyMcKhann TweetGrid for the party: http://bit.ly/15Nrte2Party co-hosts: Alison, Being Alison - @BeingAlison Amee, Madame Deals - @madamedeals Andrea, Moody Mama Says - @simplyandreah Carrie, Carrie With Children - @CarrieWChildren Emily, Baby Dickey - @babydickey Jen, The Mom Reviews - @themomjen Jennifer, The Dirty tShirt - @Jentifa Julee, Mommy’s Memorandum - @jonbonjovious Mimi, Woven by Words - @MimiBakerMN Toni, Two Traveling Moms - @ToniPatton See you on Tuesday!   The post DoubleTree by Hilton #DTourParty on Twitter 5/21! appeared first on Baby Dickey | Chicago, IL Mom Blogger.

I grew up in a suburban neighborhood where we spent long years on swim team & rode the bus with the same kids for well over a decade. We played cards in the club house when summer thunderstorms rolled through & in the evenings, we’d round up teams to play capture the flag in the woods & creek that wrapped between & around our houses. We dared each other to jump the fence to Peabody’s land where he lived with his 12 Dobermans, then ran like hell home where our moms would call the other to laugh over our stories. The other kids that I grew up with became my playmates & friends & enemies for the first 18 years of my life. Some of my favorite memories are wrapped up in the little world that surrounded my house. When we started looking for houses last year, Doug & I had very distinctly different tastes – he wanted land & lots of it while I wanted neighbors & lots of ‘em. In the end, I won with a promise that when we retire, we’ll own rolling hills & a house without an HOA governing the colors of mailboxes. We fell in love with our Money Pit & the trampolines & swingsets behind the other houses only made me want it more. The first time I watched Harrison run through the cul-de-sac with the girls two doors down, I thought my heart would explode. This was exactly what I hoped for. One night when it was gorgeous, Doug & I sat on the front steps while Harrison played trucks on the ground. It was perfect. Harry looked up & said, “Can those girls play with me?” & I looked over to their house, which seemed shut tight. I stood up & brushed the pollen off my pants & held out my hand. “Okay, buddy. I’m going to teach you Neighborhood 101.” Together we walked barefoot up the driveway & paused at their front door. I kneeled down & told him that he needs to push the doorbell & when their momma answers to ask, “Can M & Acome out to play?” He nodded & repeated me several times until I gave him a wink & a pat on the rump. He rang the doorbell & looked back at me uncertainly. “Remember,” I coached. “Can M & A come out to play?” He nodded again. Yep, Momma. I got this. The door swung open. Harry froze. Their momma waited patiently & I whispered, “Don’t you have something to ask?” Harrison squared his shoulders, took a step forward & boomed, “CAN I COME IN YOUR HOUSE?” & then I died. The end. Related PostsMemory.Almost three.When the floodgates open.Hibby says at the dinner table…It’s the quiet ones you have to watch out for.Zemanta

amazon.com For cute presentation, this sweet pea bundle of baby layette essentials gets a gold star. A woven basket is filled with organic cotton baby basics, including a baby blanket, footed pjs, a cap and bib, and a peas in a pod shaped rattle. The color is a natural beige throughout, with the sweet pea motif of a baby bundled in a pea pod decorating each item. The basket could be re-used again and again by the new mother too, either for keeping baby toiletries in, or giving gifts to the next new mother, so it doesn’t need to be a waste of resources. For elegant mothers who love the quality of organic cotton, as well as its chemical free benefits, this Baby Aspen classic gift set is sure to be a hit at baby showers. The set costs $54.99 at amazon.com.

I never liked liver when I was little. Where we lived, the whole animal was used in food prep, nothing wasted. Nevertheless I attempt to make it palatable for my kids, it's so healthy! So this is yet another try which my husband and I absolutely loved and my kids wanted nothing to do with. Okay, so at least Baby T gets some of the vitamins and minerals through breast milk. Baby E though - who really needs it for remineralizing teeth, can't even smell it! It was worth a try though.This is relatively easy to make, especially because you save time by not taking the film off the liver the way you would need to if you were just sauteing it. You will need a food processor, high powered blender, or meat grinder. I borrow my moms Ninja because yes, my friends, my real foods kitchen does not have a food processor, yet [gasp!]. It worked okay, but I had to stop it several times to scrape the sides and mix the contents because the top wasn't getting ground up. Though an easy recipe, it is a little time consuming, so plan for a solid hour to make it, it is best made a day ahead and eaten cold out of the fridge.There are many ways to eat the pate: as is, as a 'meat' for dinner with a side and salad, on top of toast, with some homemade crackers, in your lunch sandwich, whatever you can imagine. We love it on some sprouted bread. This recipe serves 6-8 people as part of a dinner, or more if used as a toast topping or part of an appetizerIngredients:1 lb grassfed beef liver (optionally soaked in milk overnight)1/4 cup grassfed butter or ghee, softened1 large sweet onion6-10 garlic cloves1 cup carrots, grated 2 cups mushrooms1/4 tsp real saltpepper1 tbsp ghee or coconut oil for sauteing Directions: 1. Optionally, soak liver overnight in milk to make the taste more palatable. 2. Cut liver into 1-2 inch pieces and fry in pan on medium-high until it's brown on all sides and no longer bright pink on the inside. Make sure to cook it through so you don't end up with raw liver pate and the potential for it to spoil quick. 3. Slice onions, garlic, grate carrots and slice mushrooms, saute in one skillet adding them in that order until soft in texture.4. Place the liver, sauteed vegetables, softened butter, salt, and pepper in blender and blend until it all incorporates into the pate. Scrape sides if necessary. 5. Let it cool if it's still warm, place in container and refrigerate.6. Enjoy with dinner, on toast or crackers, in a sandwich, or by the spoonful! If you make this recipe, we would love to know what you served it with or if you put a different spin on it! If you adapt this recipe and post it on your own blog, please link to Eco-Babyz, we would appreciate it :)Contains affiliate links to where we usually shop, your purchase supports Eco-Babyz at no extra cost to you. Thank you!Top Mommy Blogs - Vote for us @ TopMommyBlogs.Com!

This sophisticated nautical boys nursery room was designed by Erin Feasby for her baby boy. She designed it while keeping his future room in mind. You can see that much of the furniture in this room such as the twin bed can be used when he gets older as well or for guests. The boat blueprint wallpaper is such a great idea for adding to the ship theme of the room. Even the toy storage has some coordinates labeled on them for some nautical flavor.  Style at Home featured this stunning room. Through the white crib you can see white and blue striped bedding which are the ultimate boating colors. The vintage car toy is a fun addition to the room. The alphabet on the wall has been a trend in a lot of nurseries. The clean pictures and frames are perfect for the nautical theme. The white shelves are simple and really lends themselves for embellishments like the lamp and model ships. Organize your books and toys that you want on display for your boy.  The boys bed is set up for when he gets to big for the crib. It will be able to fit him well into his teens. You can also see the dresser with the changing pad on top. It is timeless and when he grows up you just take off that changing pad and it is ready for a big boys room. The post Nautical Boys Nursery Room appeared first on Design Dazzle.

For many years now, only Seattle and Chicago have been able to enjoy an actual bricks and mortar Land Of Nod store. Well that ends next month. As you can see from the above picture, South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, CA will be getting their very own Land Of Nod store. The shop will open on Level 3 of the Crate & Barrel Wing on Bear Street. The official opening date is May 31.

Modern Kids by Atlanta Interior Designer Cristi Holcombe Such a fun tween/teen girls room by designer Cristi Holcombe of Charm Home.  My favorite part is the yellow striped ceiling! Find out what your child enjoys e.g colors, hobbies, styles and create a room around that. This modern stylish room can transform from a tween room into a teen room very easily.  The bright pops of color against the white walls adds charm to the room. And how about the darling pillows? Super cute! Modern Kids by Atlanta Interior Designer Cristi Holcombe Is this not the best ceiling?? What other colors would look great? The post Fun Tween Teen Girls Room appeared first on Design Dazzle.

For your Thomas the Train loving kids this Choo Choo Train birthday party has some neat ideas! The red, blue, and light blue theme was carried through out the whole party for some finishing touches. This sign above was posted so that all the guests were greeted with an “All Aboard” and a promise for some fun adventures inside. The use of the Thomas the Train images and places on the signs would make the little guests feel like they were really in Thomas the Train. The red and blue balloons covering the door way are definitely eye catching for a little boy. You can see there is some fun waiting ahead at the train table or “Brendam Docks” as the sign says. The food table is labeled “chew chew” what a funny play on words. The food all looks deliciously healthy with a fun train full of goodies running down the middle. These veggie cups have ranch in the bottom for the perfect no mess dipping solution. The party guests can just take a cup to go for some healthy snacking. The sticker with the number two is a good way to display what age your little boy is turning. Here is another clever play on words “chugga chugga” station where you can chug on some water or soda. Notice the blue and red cups to match the color theme. And to top it all off here is this fabulous Thomas the Train cake. Its so yummy looking but it almost looks too good to eat. I’m sure your little party guests will be excited to “chew chew” on a piece of that cake. Thank you to Highlands Ranch Mom for sharing her great birthday party ideas with us. If you want more pictures of the party you can check out her blog and more of her ideas. The post Choo Choo Train Birthday Party appeared first on Design Dazzle.

Still no baby although I am not due until May 29th I feel like this one may be early. Probably just wishful thinking on my part. In the meantime here are some pics from the last month or so. The first few are from his "Halloween" birthday party and the rest are from last night. We had our first fire in the firepit and made s'mores. Yum.

Can you tell he's so stinking proud he snagged his sister's juice? Oh yeah, he thinks it's hilarious! The most beast swingset ever Did you take the picture already??? Multi-tasking T.R.O.U.B.L.E. Emma & Axl Random ghost like picture of Natalie running after Uncle Daniel's truck Corbin & Aunt Anna We got to watch our neighbor make hay today. It's so cool that we live out in the "country", yet a half mile away from every type of shopping center imaginable.