#MummyTummy July! Let's Firm Up Together!

No, that is not my pretty tummy on the right. I wish.

Ok, so, I don't know what's gotten into me except I got this idea in my head a few weeks ago and have been brooding on it and started thinking that if I actually DO IT I'll be forced to stick to it and maybe get some good results. I'm about 10 pounds away from my ideal weight but I'm also flabbbby and unhappy with my flabbbbbbiness and most often totally unmotivated to actually kick my own ass (pardon) in gear and actually do something about it. Let me just put it in the grossest, ugliest terms possible, terms that when I hear other people use them it makes me cringe: 

I have a muffin top. Oh my god I said it.

I have a spare tire! It's true, it's true. 

Can I get a "love handles"? Yes you can! 

Wow, that actually feels kinda better. I think I just interventioned myself.   

Yeah, Yeah - So What's #MummyTummy?

Beginning June 28 and ending July 31 I'll be tweeting the hashtag #MummyTummy throughout the day and would love for my Twitter friends to join the party! Please comment below with your Twitter moniker (e.g., I'm @OttosMomBlogs) and I'll send you dedicated tweets 4 times per day with the #MummyTummy reminder. Here's how I picture this working:

- Randomly 4x per day you'll get a tweet directly from me with the #MummyTummy hashtag
- When you see that tweet then the next time you are able, you plop yourself down on the ground and do 20 crunches, situps, or whatever ab workout you are comfortable with
- If you're on Twitter and you spot a #MummyTummy hashtag and it's not for you, that's worth 10 more crunches/situps/whatever
- After you do the deed, tweet me back with the #MummyTummy hashtag

I'm going to San Diego in 2 weeks and I'd love to be just a bit more confident in my skivvies on the beach. I thought by doing this together we could motivate and encourage each other.

And please don't get me wrong, I truly believe that every female body is gorgeous and that anything that your body is doing as a result of having a baby, growing older and wiser, or simply living your life is perfectly beautiful and perfectly natural. I've always been one of those people who judges themself much more harshly than I judge anyone else. That being said, and without taking this too seriously, I'd love to tone up and engage my abs and lose my (shhhh) muffin top. 

Who's in? I think this could be fun!

-Lindsey

HandMade by Cole Custom Knit Ball for Littles - Review & Discount!

HandMade by Cole

A couple weeks ago TidbitsParenting hosted our first giveaway (!!! it has since ended but I'm still all keyed up about it !!!) with a generous and freaking cuuuute donation of a custom, handknit ball toy from the freaking coooool Etsy shop HandMade by Cole. I was also given the opportunity to custom order a complimentary toddler ball for Otto in order to do this review, yay! You can custom pick your colors with each order. I chose dark teal, light teal, & yellow.

The HandMade by Cole Etsy shop has a unique aesthetic that is on the hipster side of shabby chic, totally stylish, and geared for mamas and babies. Items include:

- Baby slings

- Nursing covers

- Knit baby booties

- Knit hats for kiddos

- Coupon wallets

- And these cool little custom toddler balls (like you see in the pics)

The Review

It's pretty easy to see from the pics that Otto is loving his one-of-a-kind knit ball! One of our favorite things about this ball is its size and softness. Both attributes make it very easy for Otto to catch and hang onto! The ball maintains its round shape for rolling games but squishes up nicely for wee hands to tote it around.

Catching is one of those skills adults pretty much take for granted (or at least I speak for myself). But the joy that spreads across Otto's face when he tries and succeeds at catching anything really makes my heart sing. Unlike some of his other toys, Otto can totally catch this knit ball and when he does it is a happy thing indeed.

Another notable: the ball is much bigger than I'd pictured in my mind and is very, very cute.

The Discount

 HandMade by Cole is offering a 10% discount on any order. Just mention "TidbitsParenting 10% discount" in a comment with your order and you will be refunded 10% of the total via PayPal.

I want to thank HandMade by Cole for including us in this awesome giveaway, review, and discount promotion! The opinions expressed here are 100% my own.

-Lindsey

Here's to Big Boy Beds! Smooth Transitioning From the Crib...

We recently decided to take the plunge and get rid of Elliot’s crib in favor of a toddler bed. Elliot has slept through the night since he was 2 months old, and up until recently had very consistent sleeping patterns. Just before his second birthday in April, he became more reluctant to fall asleep, and night after night he would cry and scream at bedtime. We decided maybe what he needed was a “big boy” bed.

Finding the right bed took some time; I spent a few hours looking at different beds online trying to get one that was cute but practical. We bought one at IKEA and after assembling it realized that you have to buy an IKEA-sized mattress to fit it; the crib mattress was too small, grrrr! Damn you, IKEA and your Swedish measurements! Finally we settled on a bed from good old Babies R Us.

"How do you get a toddler to sleep in a toddler bed?"

I wasn’t sure how to proceed….how do you get a toddler to sleep in a toddler bed? I had my husband assemble the bed and we left it in the living room for a day or two so Elliot could sit, lie, and play on it without feeling that it was a “threat” to his enjoyable crib life. Then I moved it into his room but didn’t insist he sit on it, I just wanted him to get used to it being there. Surprisingly, he took to it happily. He was very proud of his toddler bed and asked to sleep in it. So that day, at nap time, I went about our regular nap-taking routine and simply put him in his toddler bed. He was absolutely tickled about having the freedom to get in and out of it. He came out of his room a few times with the biggest grin on his face! He was so proud of himself! He said, “I’m supposed to be napping mommy!” Trying to hide my laughter I told him he needed to go lie down and take his nap. After two or three times of coming out to show me his cleverness, he finally fell asleep….in his toddler bed…..just like that.

It has been three days now, and we have taken apart the crib and put it in storage. He never asks about his crib or complains about his new sleeping arrangements. It is such a delight to wake up to his little face in mine, asking me to “wake up mommy!” I think that when it’s right for them to transition from a crib to a bed, they’ll let you know in their own special way, which is crying and throwing a fit at bed time; aren’t they little darlings? Our sleeping routine has become a lot less chaotic, and even though it takes a few times of turning him around and putting him back into it, the toddler bed has been a huge success in our family! Here’s to big boy beds!

-Megan

Stokke Tripp Trapp Highchair Giveaway! CLOSED

 
! ! ! WIN ! ! !

a Stokke TRIPP TRAPP high chair from PamperedTot.com

Gah! So excited to host this awesome giveaway from the lovely folks over at PamperedTot.com - a "mom and pop" online retailer, specializing in providing "the world's finest for your most precious". The owners of PamperedTot are parents to a couple of way cute munchkins themselves and they were extra picky when choosing furniture, bedding, feeding supplies, bath supplies, etc. for their own kids - so they set up a shop to offer the best of the best all in one spot.

Stokke TRIPP TRAPP

When Peter Opsvik started to work on the award-winning TRIPP TRAPP, his aim was for children of all sizes to be able to sit in the natural way at the family table with their elbows at table height. The TRIPP TRAPP can actually grow with your child and holds up to 300 lbs!

A research study from Cornell University even found that the TRIPP TRAPP helps improve preschool children's functioning while sitting.

Pronunciation: I found out today that "Stokke" is pronounced "stoke-uh" so there you go.

Here's a pic of my chubby cheeked urchin scarfing down sunbutter waffles and blackberries in his TRIPP TRAPP (please focus on my darling munckin and rad high chair and ignore messy table).

Soooo, we bought our TRIPP TRAPP chair when Otto was 9 months old and we did not get the "Baby Set" attachment which makes the chair perfect for baby-babies, so at 9 months Otto was a little wobbly in it at first. I think if you plan on using this highchair for a baby under 1 year of age the "Baby Set" would be highly suggested otherwise you might want to wait a few more months.

By the time Otto turned 1 he was totally comfy and stable in the TRIPP TRAPP and he loves it! We have two highchairs, an inherited "traditional" chair and then the Stokke, and we totally prefer the Stokke now that Otto is a toddler. He loves it too; especially being able to play with his feet while at the table (sigh) so we always have to make sure to wash his hands AND feet before meals.

We did purchase a supplemental "Chair Cushion" and although that isn't necessary, it does add a nice amount of cushy comfort so I'd say it's worth investing in a cushion to go along with the chair. As you can see in the pics, we got a very stylish cushion in the style "Tales Green" that fits right into our Torkelson-style mishmash of a kitchen. The cushion wipes clean super-easily and we've also machine washed it several times and it still looks like new.

I've known the owners of PamperedTot for a while now and when it came time to get Otto's high chair I was dreammmming of a TRIPP TRAPP the way that some people dream of an Aston Martin or a date with George Clooney. Well, I did not get mine for free, but it was worth every cent and I did get a discount and free shipping (PamperedTot gives free shipping on all orders over $100 delivered in the US).

The Giveaway:

PamperedTot will send one lucky winner their own Stokke TRIPP TRAPP classic collection high chair! Please note that this giveaway is available for residents of the US or Canada only who are 18 years of age or older.

So Easy - Mandatory First Entry:

Kindly note that before you can do any additional entries, you MUST complete this step:

Visit PamperedTot.com, take a look around, then come back here and comment below on another item that you would love to call your own from their selection of fine baby gear, furniture, bedding, decor, feeding, bath, and toys.

Additional Entries:

- Tweet about this giveaway with a link to this page in your tweet. In your comment below make sure to put a link to your tweet (up to 3 bonus entries per day - 1 per tweet - 30 mins apart or more please)

- Blog about this giveaway and in your comment leave a link to your blog post (4 bonus entries)

 Please Note:

Just remember to leave a comment for EACH entry. If you follow us on Facebook since that's worth 2 bonus entries make sure you leave 2 comments for that.

Make sure that I can reach you if you win - via email or Twitter. We will contact the winner on July 2 and they will have 48 hours to claim the prize or we will choose a different winner.

Giveaway ends at 11:59pm Pacific Time on July 5th. We will use Random.org to choose a winner and will verify that the winning entrant has played by the rules so it only makes sense to be honest!

The opinions expressed here are 100% my own.

Many thanks to PamperedTot for providing giveaway prize!

-Lindsey