I'll be on NBC tomorrow morning...

I am so excited to announce that I will be on NBC News again! It was such a blast doing the summertime reviews, that I happily agreed to a wintertime review of unique baby shower presents. This is lucky for my neighbor who recently had twins, because she is going to be the recipient of most of my reviews! (But shhhh! She doesn't know it yet.)

First up on the list is the Sidekick Child Carrier Backpack by Go Go Babyz.
This truly is unique. It's a bag, it's a carrier, it's a bag AND a carrier all at once! The Sidekick retails for $129 and is available at the GoGoBabyz.com site and national retail stores.As a mom who loved to carry her babies, I can see how this device would have been truly useful. As a mom who currently has no babies to carry (sob), you can picture me, walking around the house, popping a teddy bear in and out, in and out, just to get the feel for the ease of this carrier. While I wouldn't recommend it for your main carrier as I think it might become quite heavy on one shoulder with a toddler and the bag full of diapers/juice/rattles/etc., I do think it makes a FABULOUS emergency carrier. Especially for use in airports, downtown trips, and when you're just caught without a stroller or sling.

Next up are the adorable Leg Ruffles from Huggalugsusa.com(We received some purple and pink Huggalugs, but I have to say that these goldfish ones are my absolute favorite!)

Legruffles are a ruffle-themed legwarmer and armwarmer knitted with a beautiful cotton blend yarn giving a soft, flowing feel. They retail from $12.50-$17.50 with sizes ranging from newborn all the way to tweens and adults! I may have to check into those longer ones for myself, especially on these winter nights...


The Peekaru Hoodie is something for every baby-carrying caregiver. With its incredibly soft cotton, and loose design, the hoodie allows for a baby to be cozy and comfortable from inside the safety of your favorite baby carrier.Isn't it cute? It can be worn as a front or back carrier cover and is designed to be comfortable from the temps of about 45-65 Farenheit. It retails for approximately $64 and can be found on Togetherbe.com

I have rarely traveled in the air with a baby. (one of the benefits of having all of your family living in the same state!) However, I have seen many a parent struggle with little ones while in the air. Whether or not you have your baby in your lap or their own seat for take off and landing, there will be many times that you will want to be holding your child in your lap mid-flight. For those times, the Baby B'Air Flight Vest is an award-winning designed device that allows your baby (up to 2 years of age) to safely sleep in your arms and avoid the dangers that turbulence can cause. It retails for $34.95 and can be found on babybair.com.

Next up, these little socks are just the CUTEST.
Aren't they adorable?? One of the best parts of having a baby is the miniature accessories they can wear. And socks that pretend to be shoes?!? Too. Cute. These teeny little socks are available in a variety of styles at Walgreens. Two pairs sell for $4.99 which makes them perfect for a small baby shower gift or baby welcoming gift. You can find all of their styles on zachandchloe.com.

I obviously can't test out this next product, but the Emily Diaper Skin Soother is marketed as the most natural diaper rash cream available as well as the most effective. Made of just 6 ingredients: organic sunflower oil, natural beeswax and 4 natural wildcrafted herbs - frankincense, red peony root, dictamnus root and phellodendron bark. No fragrance, no chemicals, no preservatives, no artificial ingredients of any kind. It is designed to soothe and heal any type of diaper rash or irritation, whether caused by heat, fungus, moisture, bacteria or allergen. Retails for $14.00 per 1.8 oz jar. Available online at emilyskinsoothers.com or at retailers throughout North America.

Nowadays, a lot of what we do is online. But that doesn't mean that paperwork isn't still a necessary evil. In fact, having hard copies of important documents, (prescriptions, immunizations, birth certificates, etc.) is essential in case your digital copies are compromised.
The Baby Briefcase offers a simple method of organizing all of the random papers that having a baby generates. (And trust me, there's a LOT OF PAPERWORK.) It retails for $29.95 and can be found at babybriefcase.com.

I hope that some of these products are just what you were looking for. I would be happy to answer any questions you may have about any or help you find them! I also hope that tomorrow morning will find me without circles under my eyes, brightly chatting without stuttering on NBC Chicago.

Have a great day!

Falling. Yes, I am falling...

Annnnddd... here it is. The mid-winter mood drop.

No sunshine. No vitamin D. No snow. Just mud and clouds and a messy house with too much laundry and not enough time or energy to get it done.

Thankfully, I know from experience that dropping like this will result in a bounce. I will feel low and overwhelmed for a bit. Wah wah, I'm so sad, woe is me for a few mornings. Hormones will finally realign themselves, sleep will return to my routine (anyone up for 3 am chats? Anyone?), and I will be motivated, once more.

In the meantime, I'll be burrowing under the covers each morning, struggling to charge my battery before lunch time.

Meh.

How many drafts DOES it take to write a birthday letter to a 13 year old?*

There's so very, very little left of him that is, well, little. No soft, curling locks or deliciously aromatic neck to sniff. In fact, I rarely approach my almost 13-year-old with my nose unless it's to determine if he needs a shower.

Nobody tells you about having to smell pre-teens when you get pregnant. Rather, they do, but all new parents laughingly ignore the warnings of doom because we** all say:

"Look At This! I have a BA.BY. I will never have to be where you are! That is impossible! Not only because my baby is my baby, but also because the possibility of my baby becoming a teenager would mean that I would have to AGE. And that? Ridiculous! I mean, come on! I like Pearl Jam and go to Lollapalooza and am FAR TOO YOUNG to ever have a teenager!! "

This lovely reality of parenthood is hidden in a dark dresser drawer, shoved underneath other less-desirable aspects like the first time your child bites somebody else and the first time you realize that you will NOT be "better" at this parenting gig than your parents or your neighbor or that woman down the street who never wears anything but sweatpants.***
My eldest is a near-man. I'm definitely not his "best fwend in da world" anymore. Not to say that we don't get along, because we do. Especially when we're not arguing. We get along really well when we're not arguing. Or when I'm not asking him to take out the trash, do schoolwork, get dressed... In fact, if I were to just stay out of his way, we'd probably never have any problems, EVER.
Back when I was able to hold him, whenever I felt like it, for longer than 2.3 seconds. Back when he liked me without reservations; without qualifications. Back when I wore overalls and had a perm.

I have been poring over the old journals I have from my pregnancy of Justin. I have been reading the letters I've written to the tiny little soul who changed our lives, nearly 13 years ago. Naturally, many wistful tears have been spilled and memories rediscovered of who I was back then and what our family was like. Nearly everything has changed. Our address, our careers, our lifestyle, our family size. The only constant is our love. The love that I wrote to that tow-headed baby boy still exists for my baritone teenager. It's not the same, obviously. A mother's love, like everything beautiful in the world, must evolve to continue to survive.

He doesn't need me to rock him to sleep or prepare his food and holding his hand to cross the street is something I haven't had to do in eons. The needs for my 13 year old are more... abstract. He needs me available, but not intruding. He needs me to provide him with more space than most mothers are ever comfortable giving over. He needs me to tell him I love him, every day, even when we're arguing (especially when we're arguing).


I'm thinking he also needs to not have his mom gush about him for too long on the internet. That said, I will end my weepy, week-long attempt at capturing how much I love him. I will quietly forward the link to him on his Facebook account and not be sad when he doesn't come to talk to me about it, wrapping his arms around me and proclaiming just how much he still loves me. I know he loves me. Even when I'm the lamest mom in the world, he still loves me.

Happy Birthday, Justin. You are a cool, cool kid and I'm so, so proud of you.
*Answer: about 6 drafts. SIX.

**By "We" I mean "Me" and probably "You" but it's quite possible that you are more intelligent than I am. Perhaps when you were 23 with a newborn, you realized that Time Marches On, but it kinda sorta escaped me, back then...

***See also: potty-training, IEP meetings, Boy Scout camp outs and anytime the words "...promise you won't get mad...." are uttered.

What I've Learned and What I Promise to Do...

"Front kick!"

"Ay-YAH!"

"Front punch!"

"Ay-Yah!"

"And now it's time for announcements..." The karate instructor began to list the upcoming activities and important news for the class. Evan glanced over at me and frowned.

"You crying?" he signed*.

"Yes," I nodded.

"Why?"

"I'm ok. You just work."

His face concerned, he signed back, "I love you."

"I love you, too."

I am sad. Devastated, actually, for two little boys that will never again have their mother watch them at karate or basketball or whatever activity interests their little-boy hearts. They will always have her love, but to feel it in the air and through your heart is vastly different than to feel her arms around them, kissing their foreheads, showering them in her pride...

I am deeply affected by their loss. By the loss for all of us now that Susan has passed away. Most of us never really "knew" her, but we knew her love for her family through her beautiful words on her blog. We knew her through conferences and speaking events, tweets and posts.

She will be missed.

There are insanely vibrant flowers on my kitchen table today. Fuschia and orange and yellow. These are most definitely not their God-given colors, but on this intensely dreary February day, I am beyond grateful for the gift my husband bought me last night. "I knew you'd had a hard day," he said...

I may not be able to donate money to all of the amazing charities in the world. I may not be able to cure the diseases that snatch our loved ones before they are softened and gray with 90+ years. I may not be able to touch as many people's hearts as Susan did. But I am able to appreciate these children that surround me, these flowers from my husband, and the health that I hold for today. I am able to send a message into the world that say:

I will be Consciously Kind. I will acknowledge that today, I may meet someone on their last day in their Earthly body. The energy we put out into the universe does not end. It continues, long after we are far, far away.

If Susan's courageous battle with Inflammatory Breast Cancer taught us anything, it's that Life is Precious.


*Evan has been learning American Sign Language with me and Corinne. He loves it and I am so proud of his dedicated practice...

Time for a Little Heart to Heart....

Speaking of diseases that try to destroy the women we love...

Friday, February 3 is National Wear Red Day. I will be wearing RED! (Note to self: Do some laundry.)

The National Go Red For Women Foundation focuses on bringing awareness to women's heart disease. Why only women and not men and women? As a person who has had male loved ones with serious heart disease, I was curious, too.

Their website explains it quite well, I think:

In the past, heart disease and heart attack have been predominantly associated with men. Historically, men have been the subjects of the research done to understand heart disease and stroke, which has been the basis for treatment guidelines and programs. This led to an oversimplified, distorted view of heart disease and risk, which has worked to the detriment of women.

Because women have been largely ignored as a specific group, their awareness of their risk of this often-preventable disease has suffered. Only 55 percent of women realize heart disease is their No. 1 killer and less than half know what are considered healthy levels for cardiovascular risk factors like blood pressure and cholesterol. The Go Red For Women movement works to make sure women know they are at risk so they can take action to protect their health.

We women are always the caregivers and rarely think about providing care for ourselves. It's time to put a stop to that oversight and place ourselves higher on the To Do list than the laundry and soccer practices! I mean, it's pretty freaking hard to multi-task if you're having a heart attack...

Though this short movie is meant to be light-hearted, it's not meant to downplay the seriousness of women's health and I think the point is pretty clear:



This February 29, Sassy Moms in the City will be hosting a fabulous event to draw awareness for women's heart health! Girl's Night Out will boast raffles, music, mini spa services, etc. FUN STUFF. Fun stuff that brings women together. Women that are all wearing red, joining forces, and remembering the reason behind our red dresses is to Fight Heart Disease and spread awareness of how to do so.

I just so happen to LOVE red dresses!!
* Sassy Moms is providing me with a complimentary ticket to help them spread the word for their event. Don't tell them (cuz I really want to go!), but I would have done it for free.

Pride doesn't exist when we're talking about Cancer

So, I was at Quigley's Irish Pub with some of the Chicago Blogger Gang (word) last week. Brandie was sitting next to me, being the bad influence that she is*, trying to get me to get up and do my jig.

"Oh, I'll do it!" I said. "Tell you what: you walk around and have people donate a buck for your Avon walk and I'll get up and do a full-on Tracey version of an Irish-jig-meets-Elaine-from-Seinfeld."And Brandie, being the sweet and delicate flower that she is**, blushed and giggled and wouldn't walk around, approaching random strangers for money to watch her friend dance.

GO FIGURE.

And Me, being not-quite-drunk-enough to TRULY embarrass myself in a bar full of very cute 20 something's, never did get up and do that jig (though, truth be told, it may have had something to do with the killer boots I was wearing and my fear of twisting an ankle in freaking JANUARY).

I came home that night, slightly inebriated, and fast-talking my husband's ear off about the Fabulous! Idea! I had and even went so far as to scribble my idea for said Fabulous Blog Post on a box of baby products I will be reviewing in a week (on tv! Again!). Yes. I wrote a drunken note to myself on baby products while drunk. (though only slightly drunk) Thankfully it was only the shipping box and I won't need to show it on television. Whew! My reputation is saved!

What is this Fabulous! Idea! you ask?

Well, Brandie has spent the last year beating the beast that is breast cancer away with many sharp, pointy sticks and other assorted weaponry. Now that she has cleared several hurdles, she's committed to walking in Avon 2 day Walk in Chicago. While I already personally donated to her walk, I really would like to help her earn a little more towards their goal. Sooooo....

I shall dance a jig!

Complete with Elaine kicks and embarrassing facial expressions. All it will take for you to witness this loveliness is a dollar or two, donated to Brandie's Avon Walk account. Avon doesn't take Paypal donations -sad face- but if you would like to donate via credit card or personal check, you can donate to Brandie's group. Or you can donate to Brandie's personal Paypal account that she will use towards her walk (Brandie185 at gmail dot com). Just comment below that you've done so, and I'll include it in the tally. Once we get to $50, the music shall commence.

Come on! A buck to see me dance? It truly is a treasure worth witnessing. Just ask anyone at BlogHer11...

Or weddings, random bars, or my kitchen for that matter...

Edited to add: Please tell me the amount you've donated so that I can start a count!

Current donations are at: $5.00

*We all know who the REAL*** bad influence is....

**Ha HA! She is no delicate flower. She is kicking cancer's ass as I type this. Only a Warrior can do that.

***It's true. I am a baaaaad influence...

The John Hancock Observatory

Looking for a different view of Chicago? Want to experience the height of the city from an alternative perspective? The John Hancock Observatory offers a cozy cafe with utterly breathtaking views of Chicago's lake, pier and North side. Within walking distance of Navy Pier and the Magnificent Mile, you can spend the entire day enjoying the city!

Me, way up in the sky, enjoying the view of Lake Michigan

If your little ones are antsy to get active this winter, why not head on up to the 94th floor for indoor ice skating?!? That's right, you can ice skate 1,000 feet in the sky for only $5 (additional to JHO admission). Either bring your own skates or rent theirs for only $1. I don't think I've ever found anything downtown that cost a DOLLAR... Check for times and availability to pre-book your skating session as this is a popular event.


* Disclaimer: The John Hancock Observatory is a sponsor the the LTYM Chicago show. While sponsors will receive a comp. post on my site, all words and opinions remain my own.