How about starting in the womb? What parent wouldn’t want their child to reach early milestones, be a little smarter, and be a little calmer. My newest discovery, BabyPlus Prenatal Education System. I recently started using mine and so far, I have only good things to say about it. Of course, we don’t see the end results, until the baby is here, and going through his or her first steps, words, etc… However, I am a believer and that is why I am using the BabyPlus Prenatal Education System. I know there are a lot of skeptics out there (my husband is one), but honestly, if you were given a chance to make your child, a little bit more brighter, alert, calmer, wouldn’t you take it and try it out? Plus, BabyPlus has done research after research that back their findings.

My first pregnancy was probably a textbook perfect pregnancy. I had absolutely no nausea, no morning sickness, I felt super energetic, and I had no scares. The baby hit every milestone inside me, from the butterflies to the kicking, and when she was ready to enter this world, she came without any problems.

My second pregnancy, started off with a lot of nausea. I couldn’t look at a lot of foods, without my gag reflex going off, and certain smells from foods, just made me not want to eat anything. For the first 4 months, I went through 4 very different colds, one lasting 2 months long with the added benefit of laryngitis. On top of my colds, I was dealing with a nauseous meltdown. It was probably the hardest and worst 4 months of my life.

After that passed, I was able to redeem some energy back. But life had it, where I was presented with a whole other set of problems. My sciatica started to flair up. I could hardly sit up straight and stand up straight, so I was stuck in the limbo of “I can’t sit or stand, let’s just kind of hang in mid air.” Everything was just hurting, and sleeping in itself, seemed like a long drawn out task. I was able to go see a great physical therapist who specialized in prenatal therapy. Through that, I was able to do some pain management.

After I got my sciatica under control, then I was presented with a whole other issue. My daughter started to realize that she wasn’t going to be the only one. With everyone’s excitement over the next baby, she realized that she was going to have some competition. That’s when she latched on and wanted to be attached to me. When I mean attached, she was literally hanging onto my thighs, as if she was another extension of my body. From then on, it progressed to crying a lot, doing lots of bad things to get my attention, and doing things she wouldn’t normally do.

Currently, she has finally reached the acceptance stage. Now, she is excited to meet and play with the baby. She talks about what she would do with the baby and she knows she will be a big sister. We have come a long way! But oh the cycle continues and never seems to end. Just the other day, when I finally felt like everything was under control, I had a pregnancy scare. After I came out from my bath, I spotted a little blood. Of course, my heart dropped, and I could not breath. I ran into the room to tell my husband and we called our midwife. She assured us, as long as it wasn’t prolonged bleeding with bouts of contraction, we should wait it out. I laid down on the bed and just prayed that everything was going to be fine.

The next day, everything was back to normal. But I was still on high alert. Every time the baby kicked or moved, it felt as if the baby was literally going to fall out of me. I didn’t feel that with my first pregnancy, so it was another thing I was constantly thinking about. I went to my midwife appointment today and told her everything that was on my mind. So to make sure, she checked to see if my cervix was closed, and surely it was. What a big relief! I guess I am carrying the baby lower than my previous pregnancy, so I am feeling a lot more.

One thing I am learning is that no two pregnancies are the same. Just like life experiences, it takes you in all different directions. You just have to take it in strides.

Have you ever walked to the grocery store, only to come back with a load of grocery bags and not enough hands? I live like that, almost everyday. We live where everything is in walking distance, and suprisingly we live in Los Angeles, a car filled society. We have a Trader Joes, a 1/2 a block from us, a Ralph’s, 1 block from us, and a Whole Foods, 2 blocks from us. Even though they are close by, when it comes to carrying the groceries home, it is no easy task, and those blocks seems like miles away. Especially, when you have a toddler next to you.

I decided that there had to be something, out on the market, that would prevent these unnecessary situations for me. I came across the Nomie Baby Carry Beaners. Of course, I was super-excited and made reason to go grocery shopping. I put three bags on the carry-beaner, and suprisingly, the bags were lighter than I expected. There was enough room to add on more bags. Plus, the cushioned grip, made it very easy to hold, without any strain.

She says:

• I love you mommy! (blows a kiss with her hand)
• You are a princess, just like me.
• It’s my mommy’s, don’t touch!
• Be careful! (She holds onto my hands really tight, and if there is a car, she will not let me move)
• Where can we buy grandma?
• Where did you buy my face?
• I love you mommy! (she pats me on the head)
• How do you make a sky?

I know as parents, we all hear things that just makes us smile from within. Since my daughter started talking, and trying to put all sorts of words together, its amazing to hear some of the stuff she comes up with. It makes you think again, that children are so innocent and they just speak with honesty.

A lot of times, she will say something, and I will laugh and laugh because it’s just so funny. She will look right into my eyes and say, “It’s not funny! Stop laughing at me, mommy!” Even that in itself, is amazing in my eyes.

I’m sure we all have moments like that, as our children keep growing, and hit different milestones, or points in their lives.

I’m the first to say, when I see a child at my daughter’s school or a random kid at the mall, sneezing and coughing, I am ready to run the other way. When our children gets sick, we know the consequences of it, and what it does to our child and ourselves. So I went online to find a product that would take place of a tissue or aspirator, and be sanitary, as well as child-user friendly.

I came up with Germy Wormy! An idea, I didn’t even know existed, until I came onto their site. Germy Wormys are disposable sanitary sleeves that you put over your child’s elbow. When your child has to cough or sneeze, they can do that right into their Germy Wormy. It’s a wonderful way in educating your child, in the prevention of spreading germs, as well as catching germs. The recommended age is between 2-7 years old. You can use the Germy Wormy, both at home and at schools.

You can definitely tell that this product was Mom Invented. It came with a DVD that educates the children through puppetry, of how germs are spread, and how to use the Germy Wormy. It was very creative and educational. My daughter loved it.

After we saw the DVD, we put the Germy Wormy on my daughter’s elbow and had her mimic coughing and sneezing, into the sleeves. She had no issues of putting it on and she actually enjoyed herself. When it comes time and she catches a cold, I will not have to go through the grueling process of chasing her around the entire house, with a box of kleenex, or trying to hold her down, as we stick a nasal aspirator, up her nose. It gives her the freedom to run about and when need be, cough or sneeze into the sleeves. Please visit them at: www.germywormy.com and take the first step in the prevention of spreading germs.

(Disclosure: Product was provided free of charge for review purposes and does not affect my views or feedback of the product.  This review is based solely on my personal opinion and experience and results may vary person to person.)

I wrote a review on this fantastic nursing cover a couple weeks ago. It’s an all in one Nursing Cover that has more functions than one. Please go and read my review to find out more about this wonderful chic cover. For one of my lucky readers, Lilabean is giving away a nursing cover of your choice, from their site.

To Enter: Please comment below telling us what you like about the nursing cover, as well as your favorite print, by going to: http://www.lilabean.net/. Retail Value: $65.

Please use one account to enter. If found to be using other blogger accounts, as well as anonymous comments to gain extra entries, you will be disqualified from this giveaway, as well as future giveaways. Let’s keep it fair!

For additional entries:Please leave a comment for each additional entry you complete. (current followers and subscribers count as well)

• Follow my blog
• Subscribe to my blog
• Follow me on Twitter (@Mommasinthehous, without the E) and Tweet about this giveaway (with a link to this page) on Twitter. Please leave a link to your tweet.(unlimited entries)
• Blog about the giveaway and link back (3 entries)
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The giveaway will end on Saturday May 2nd at 11:59pm (PST).

Rules: In order to win, you must provide a valid email. If there is no email address provided, to contact the winner, another person will be chosen. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the winning email notification with their complete mailing address. If this information is not received within 48 hours, a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is open for US mailing addresses only.

Happy Earth Day!

Let’s take a step in protecting our Earth. As parents, I think its good to educate our children at an early age, to start recycling, making conscious choices, and learning the effects of leaving a carbon footprint. I certainly am not perfect, however, I try to make a conscious effort in being green by choosing eco-friendly products, trying to recycle, as well as using reusable grocery bags, lunch bags, and water bottles. If we all made a conscious effort in protecting our Earth, we would be taking a huge step toward protecting it. A little goes a long way! Let’s do our part and protect our home, “Earth.”

(Go to the Nature Conservancy Website to calculate your Carbon Footprint. You will be shocked to see the National Average. We all need to open our eyes and move one step toward change).

Mom+Logic= My Mom Logic?

It’s not as easy as 1+1, or 2+2, and the answers are not something we learned in school. As we grow as individuals, go through life experiences, hit road blocks, jump over obstacles, cherish the victories, we start to put one and one together, and two and two together. There is no right or wrong, it’s you and your “logic.”

My Mom Logic is striving to live in the moment. When I am able to take a moment to be in the moment, I can see everything, feel everything, smell everything, taste everything, and just be myself. Being a mother, we tend to put ourselves on the back burner and do twenty things at the same time. At the end of the day, you find yourself planning ahead for the next day and unable to take a minute for yourself. For me, when I give myself the freedom to be “me” and put myself “first” and live in the moment, I can share so many magical moments with my child, be a better mother, wife, daughter, sister, and friend.

When I was told to share my Mom Logic, I kept running circles in my head. Mom, Logic, hmm…What does that mean to me? We are all moms and we try to make logical decisions based on what we think is right or wrong. But going deeper, the logic behind a mom, to me, is allowing myself, 15 minutes to an hour, to have “me” time, to do what my heart desires, and not feel guilty about it (even if it’s taking a short nap). I think taking the time to feed my soul and enlighten my heart, on a daily basis, is what gives me strength to live a more fulfilled life as a mother. When I feel fulfilled, I am more available and open to meet the needs of my child, my husband, my parents, and my friends.

I personally feel that my mom logic, to live in every moment, has opened my eyes to the bigger picture. I am able to laugh, smile, cry, yell, scream, and just to be “me.” When you are true to yourself, you can be true to the world, and therefore set an example for your child, that there is nothing wrong with being “you.” Whatever you feel, see, taste, and smell are your true experiences. I think when you are honest and true with yourself, you become an honest role model for your child.

Just the other day, the heat of the California weather, crept up on us, and our place was like a sauna. My daughter and I put our bathing suits on and went into the bathtub, and pretended to swim. We even took some strawberries with us. We played with her dinosaurs, put our fingers through the water, she drank some bath water, we fed each other strawberries, laughed a lot, and when water got into her eyes, she cried hard. We were both living, being ourselves, and learning about one another with the moments we were sharing.

For me, I want my daughter to grow up living in the moment and being honest and true to who she is. Every part of who she is, is what makes her special and unique from everybody else. That is why I feel so strongly about living in the moment, and that is what is behind “My Mom Logic.”

Have you heard of the OOTS! lunchbox? I must admit, when I first saw the pictures online, I thought to myself, it’s an upscale version of a bento box. I also thought that it would be way too heavy for my 3 year old toddler. Those were my initial thoughts of how the OOTS! lunchbox looked online. However, it was BPA-free and phthalate-free polypropylene and safety tested for lead. As a parent, moreso than looks, these are definitely important factors for choosing the right lunchbox.

When I had the real OOTS! lunchbox in front of me, I was very impressed with the look of it. It was very contemporary chic and I loved the color combo. Plus, it was pretty light to carry, my daughter had no problems. I told my husband that our daughter will be the most stylin kid in her preschool with a lunchbox like that. It was not only stylish, but once you opened the lunchbox, it was truely functional. It had 4 small and 1 large container, all stacked from the bottom up. I liked the fact that the lunchbox was upright, which prevents food from moving around. Another added on bonus was that the lid of the box holds a bottle in place, under an elastic strap (how cool is that?). You can definitely tell that a lot of planning went into this lunchbox to make it look chic, as well as fully functional.

Of course, I had to put the lunchbox to the test. The first day, my daughter took her lunch in her new OOTS! lunchbox. The two smaller containers contained blueberries and strawberries, while the other two smaller containers contained carrots and sweet potatoes. The larger container contained her pb&j sandwich. On top, she had her SIGG water bottle held in place by the elastic strap that says, “Lunchbox,” on it. After driving 6 miles to her preschool and taking some sharp turns, we arrived at her school. I opened the lunchbox, and wallah, a perfectly put lunch, with no indication of any movement. Now as a parent, that makes me smile.

The second day, I took the OOTS! lunchbox to the park. I am currently 26 weeks pregnant, so sometimes it’s really hard to make sure I am taking in all the nutrients I need, on a daily basis. Well, this lunchbox made it easier for me because I could pack a well balanced meal by having the different containers there. I was able to get 1/2 of my daily veggie, protein, and grain servings, as well as my full daily servings for fruit. Plus, another mommy at the park came up to me, and told me that my lunchbox was really cute. Woman to Woman, girl to girl, when someone compliments your stuff like that, you know its really nice. Of course, I was smiling from cheek to cheek.

The lunchbox and the containers are dishwasher safe (top rack) and the containers can be used in the microwave. OOTS! lunchboxes are the start of a new wave in the lunchbox industry. Not only do they look very stylish, they are fully functional, and very safe for you and your children (BPA-free, phthalate-free, and safety tested for lead). The Lunchbox comes in three different color combos: Blue, Green and Orange. They are sold with or without the containers. The price tag on these are $35 without the containers or $45 with the containers (Deluxe Version). Please visit them at www.madebyoots.com.

(Disclosure: Product was provided free of charge for review purposes and does not affect my views or feedback of the product.  This review is based solely on my personal opinion and experience and results may vary person to person.)

Mommas, I have good news for you! Well, if you live in California, or if you know someone that lives in California, listen carefully. Mark your calendars for the first Bugaboo Warehouse Sale that will take place in Culver City. I have heard a lot of moms in the past saying that they would like to sport a Bugaboo, but the price point did not make sense for their wallets. Obviously, it is a high end item with a price tag to match, however, this will be your chance at nabbing a Bugaboo for a fraction of the cost. The information is all below! So Ladies make sure you mark your calendars!