Custom Hello Kitty Camera Strap from Marine Parents

I can't believe I forgot to post this! I just found this in my draft folder, so I am sharing it now.

I love, love, love my dSLR camera strap from Marine Parents Etsy shop. 

I have been eyeing them for a bit and decided it was time to special order a custom Hello Kitty one.  

I even added a special pocket for my lens cover, that I seem to loose all the time

It's so perfectly perfect. You should for sure go check out her shop!

She has a lot more than camera straps too, she makes pouches, bags, purses, toddler backpacks (that are super cute!) and she does flash sales on pouches on her instagram @mppouchsale as well as on her main account @marine_parents

I do love Marine Parents shop, but I also have special love for her because she is in Okinawa, and if you have been around long enough you know just how much I feel about Okinawa. Also even though she is in Okinawa, shipping was quite fast, and I was very impressed. 

You can find Marine Parents on

Etsy & Facebook

*I was not compensated for this post, I paid full price for my camera strap, I just love it so much I think you should know, so I had to share.* 

Nose Frieda (a review)

I have had the NoseFrida recommended to me several times by several people. I really don't know what took me so long to get it, the first time Evey was sick, I swore up and down I was going to order one online the next day, but I didn't. Then Evey got sick with me mid January, and I finally ordered one. I really wish I had ordered one sooner. Its a wonderful booger removal tool, and works far better than I expected.
The only downside is Evey HATES IT. I literally have to pin her down to use it. At first I felt terrible doing it, because she screams bloody murder, But it works so well, far better than any bulb sucker I have ever tried. It gets all the boogies. 

When I explain how it works, to people they think it sounds like the most disgusting thing ever, but once you get your baby breathing clear for the first time in a week, you'll be sold too. 

It works just like the picture on the box shows, you put one end into the babies nose, that part is attached to a filter to prevent boogies from passing into the hose, and you put the end of the hose in your mouth and suck those boogies out. 

It forms a seal in the nostril so when you suck those boogies, all your mommy (or daddy) powered sucking is going straight to getting those boogies out. 

Well enough with the words, let me introduce you to the NoseFrida: 

Front of the package

The NoseFrida all opened up to show how it comes apart for washing (the hose detaches too)

filter will go back into that little hole. 

mouth piece

additional filters. There's three cut out in that you just have to pull them out. 

You can get your very own NoseFrida from Amazon and CottonBabies, among many other retailers, maybe even locally if you live in a bigger city than I do. 

Sorry no action photos, I don't know how I would take pictures of me using this, and Paul refuses to use it, so I can't take pictures of him sucking the snot. 

Erin Condren Life Planner

I started looking for a new planner before christmas. Not many stores to buy local here but I searched anyway. I didn't really find anything I really liked. I have looked high an low on the internet and I kept coming back to Erin Condren. I really didn't want to spend $50 on a planner, but I really liked it, and I had read such amazing things about it. One of my biggest problems (besides the price) was that I didn't know if I would use it the whole year. I found that lots of people say the same thing, they aren't loyal planner users and weren't sure they could stick with it, but I found several "update" reviews where they had talked about how they continued to use it and enjoyed it. So I decided to take the leap. 

I ordered on January 7th, it shipped January 15th and arrived today, January 21. 

the box!
(oh dear,  my table is dirty)

table is so dirty because baby hands are on everything

That's me!
The front and back are hard laminated so it's not tearing off or getting water damaged

place for lost and found info

Evey wants to see more

quick year breakdown

inspirational quotes on each month

weekly/daily

lined pages for notes ,there are also a couple totally blank pages after these

love this, important numbers, emergency contacts, even lost or stolen credit card contact numbers

there is also a whole page of "birthday" stickers and a page of blank stickers

pockets and pouches!

these were inside the zipper pouch

I also had a nice little surprise in my box

not sure if I got them because I am special, or if they are included in the boxes, but these are super cute! 

2 things.

1. Knowing now that it's a 2 week turnaround I would have asked for my planner to start on February. The one I received starts in the month of January but actually the very first page is the last week of December and it goes until the end of December 2014. So I am thinking if mine started in February, the first page would have been the last week of January, and it would extend 12 months until January 2015. That would have been perfect. 

2. It's smaller than I thought it would be. I expected that it would be the size of a standard notepad 8x11 inches but it is 7.25 x9.25 I don't know why I thought it would be bigger, because it even says the size on the product listing. But I am happy that it's smaller than I thought, this will fit much better in my purse or diaper bag. 

If you are interested in an Erin Condren product you can get $10 off through her "Refer A Friend program"  ← by opening a new account through that link both you and I get a $10 credit! Sweet! 

*I was not compensated to write this review, these are my own ideas and I paid for my own product*

Ikea ANTILOP high-chair review

When I was researching introducing food to Evelyn I was drawn to Baby Led Weaning, which is more or less letting your baby feed herself. Well it can be very messy. Somewhere in the tons of information I was reading I saw someone recommend the Ikea ANTILOP highchair because it's very easy to clean, there is no fabric besides the buckles, it's all plastic and wipes down easy. And if necessary you can just put the whole thing into the shower or outside and hose it off! 

I was so sad that we don't have an Ikea nearby, and at the time they didn't have it available for online purchase (they do now!) So I sent my mom to Ikea, they were planning on driving up to visit us over the summer and I saw that as my opportunity to have the highchair I wanted delivered to my door! 

Ikea ANTILOP

I love that it's very simple, and very light weight. Ours gets a deep clean in the shower where I scrub every nook and cranny about once a week or so. I have never taken it apart but it looks like it should break down pretty easily. I should mention, although there are no buckles and straps in the one pictured, there are buckles on the one I have, you should make sure that yours has buckles because Evey has tried to climb out many times. I highly recommend this highchair, if you are looking for something simple and inexpensive that is 100% washable this is a great chair.

I was not compensated in any way for this review, this is entirely my own opinion. 

The Legend of Ranger: The Reindeer who Couldn't Fly

Not to long ago I was asked to review Retired Commanding General Alan Salisbury's book The Legend of Ranger: The Reindeer Who Couldn't Fly. I was very excited when the book arrived in my mail box a few days ago and I promptly got to reading to to Evelyn each night. It took us about 4 nights to finish, but could easily be read in 1-2 nights depending on the reading level and attention span of the reader. Evelyn enjoys being read too, and I think she really liked this story, it gives you a behind the scenes peek at Santa's workshop from the Ranger, one of the reindeer. 

We really enjoyed reading the adorable story about Ranger, who happens to be Rudolph's brother, and his journey to try to learn to fly. Ranger is struggling with the fact that he doesn't know how to fly, and is trying so hard to learn the secret to flight. One I night a couple other reindeer fall ill and it's up to Ranger to secure the medicine for them as Christmas is fast approaching. Will Ranger save the day? Well I don't want to ruin the needing for you!

It's a very cute story and one I am sure we will read over and over again. 

You can get your own copy of the book from Amazon (but hurry if you want a copy because it looks like there are only a few left!)

I was provided with a copy of the book, free of charge for my review, all thoughts on the story are my own. 

Evey's Favorite Things

Moby Wrap!

blury side veiw

 Evey pretty much loves this thing. She usually falls asleep within 15 min of me putting her on. It's pretty comfortable too. Although I don't wear her for long periods of time. I'd say so far the longest has been about 45 minutes. I am still a little nervous she is going to fall out, but I think that's just mom nerves because she seems to be in there pretty darn good. When it warms up I plan to go on walks with her in it. And I keep meaning to bring it to the grocery store with me so I don't have to pile groceries on top of her in the cart.

she's eating my shirt

And if you are wearing it with a newborn, make sure you are wearing it correctly! I was not, although I only wore it with her wrong, for a few minutes before I watched this and got it right.

And putting your newborn in correctly!

- Alana

Evey's Favorite Things

Even though she's just a little tiny thing, Evelyn has already taken a liking to certain things that we have gotten for her.

Fisher Price Rock and Play Sleeper

 One of these things is the Fisher Price Rock and Play. She loves it, so do we. It's something I registered for, and didn't give it much thought, just "that would be nice".  My mom got it for us and I really didn't think we'd use it a whole lot. But I was so wrong.
I like that it gives me a chance to put her down and do things, I can do some laundry, or load the dishwasher. It's light weight enough that I can carry it into the bathroom, so she can be in there while I shower.  She naps very well in it throughout the day. She can still be right next to me, and she is up away from the dogs, and still able to see me when she wakes up.



 Alana
(UPDATE 1/10/13) I am aware there has been a recall on this product due to a molding possibility. I think it's more of a common sense thing, keep your baby stuff clean and dry.  Fisher Price Recall article How to clean, from Fisher Price