Because I Said So!!! Mom Knows Best!

I have long hair. As most of you know Long
hair and babies, well lets just say they do not go
together well. Lately most of Rowans and my conversations
go something like this;
"There's the baby, such a pretty baby. Mommy is going
to scoop you up." Tickled pink Rowan throws up her
hands. "That's a good, OUCH, no Baby, OWWWWWW!
Baby please let go of the, OWW IEEEEEE I SAID. Rowan,
didn't you and Mommy talk about, Rowan, that hurts,
Stoooooooooop. Please let go of," I feverishly work
to get her little vice like fingers to release the now two
huge handfuls of hair she has. " Mommy's hair is not
a toy, OWWWWWW, Rowan please. OUCh ouch ouch."
I work fast to dig a Graham Cracker stick out of the
box which she grabs with one hand while still holding onto
my hair with the other.
"Rowan, Please let go. Lookie want a cookie for the
other hand?" I say as I dangle it in front of her to
peak her interest. She reaches for it and I think I
am saved. Then she proudly Shoves the Slimy
Cracker from her mouth into my ear and grabs some
hair with that hand.
"ROWANNNNNNNNNN!"
I am sure that any of you with more then a handful
of hair have had a similar conversation with your
little one. The Other thing we have going on around
here is Teething and every single thing goes into the
mouth. Even the hair! So not only do I suffer the Yank,
pull and cracker crumbs there is also the slime!
Ewww ( shudder) YUCK! I would sometimes rather
have the dog lick me then suffer Rowans puddle of
goo that has taken permanent residence on her chin.
Really, I wipe her mouth so much I am afraid one of
these wipes is going to take her chin with it.You know
the little Ghost in Ghost Busters, well that is my house,
just about everything is covered in slime! Every single toy,
my keys, the remote, the dog, the edge of any table, the
crib, my bed, the walker and high chair, even the Coffee
pot ( don't ask!) is covered in a THICK coating of baby dribble!
I feel so bad for her teething but the fact I wash clothes and change
her a dozen times a day, go through bibs like Kleenex and have
had to turn my house in to a giant "Boy in the Bubble" habitat
has dimmed my sympathy's. The Goo in my hair and the fact
I no longer own an article of clothing that does not have stains
all down the front has "Wiped" that sympathy
out what-so-ever!
I was doing a review for another company when they
asked me out of the blue if I might be interested in doing
a review on a product that is referred to as a "Teething
Necklace," Teething necklace, wouldn't that get her closer
to my hair..............ah what the heck anything that might
change that little Goobers focus would be a perk right now!
So Sonny and Reed sent me one of the Teething Necklaces and
it came this week. I was surprised. I am not sure what I
thought it would be but this wasn't it. The necklace is made
of large plastic beads that have little bumps on them. The bumps
remind me of the little bumps on teething toys, you know what I
am talking about. The rattles that have a little round circle on
them covered in bumps so they can apply some pressure to
those sore little gums. Well now I had a whole necklace made
of those little gum soothers!
The other part that surprised me was the necklace was
fashionable too! Really, I would have bought it even if
I didn't have kids. They are clear so they go with anything though
they do offer a Blue and a Black bead as well. They are also
large enough to see clearly and complement any outfit
without appearing too large and garish as to over shadow it.
The bumps also added some pizazz. I was reminded of the
Boo Hoo style that is so popular in the last few years and
immediately thought of a few outfits I could pair it with.
I was surprised I really liked it! In fact I loved it but
the question remained, would it just end up being an
accessory to an outfit or would Dribble Butt like it as well?
I put it on when she was napping for I didn't want her to
see what I was doing. If I put it on while she was by me
she would notice and it doesn't matter if I put a Garlic
necklace around my neck, the simple fact Mom has something
would be enough for her to have to have it too. When she woke
I sat holding her and talking to her for a bit for she is slow to fully
wake and I think that is my favorite time with her. For every other
minute of the day she is such a busy girl I have to run a marching
band through the house to get her attention but when she first
wakes I have that sacred hour that is all about her and I. About 20
minutes later she started to come to life and squirm. She was looking
for something to grab and gently swooshed my hair, it always
starts out gentle to the YANK comes from out of nowhere in
left Field. Then she spotted the necklace. I tried not to act interested
for she is a smarty pants and I didn't want her to know this
was part of my evil plan! ( hahahahahahaha) She still had
one hand on the hair but the other was all over the necklace.
The gentle tugs turned a bit more desperate as her little
gums started to get on her nerves and then it happened,
She Let Go Of The Hair!!!!!
Better yet by the time I set her down almost an hour later
my hair had still not been bothered. No slime, no Eww, no
gobbledy Goo! Now I was impressed! About an hour later she
started fussing and I could see she was tugging her ear and
her gums were hurting so I offered her the necklace to see if
it would help her settle down and it did! The soothing little
bumps and the natural chillyness of the necklace worked
like a charm and brought her some relief my hair never
would have been able to offer!
( Busy doing a happy dance, be right back!)
This is quickly moving up the ranks around
here on her favorite item to play with list and
I can already see her clinging to it for a long time
to come. Sonny and Reed is the name of the Company
that makes these charming fellows and you can order
them off thier website in all of the three colors I told
you about. They are already FDA approved and non-
toxic. Trust me, anyone with hair past their shoulders
has got to get one! Oh, and your babies gums
will feel better too!



Sonny and Reed!

It has been a long time since I have
taken care of myself. Let's see, Rowan is
about 6 months and I found out I was, OK,
let's call it a year. Before I found out about
Rowan I was doing pretty good. After years
of neglecting myself Andy was at last old enough
to do things for himself and I had the time.
I lost some weight, got a new "Doo" and
started going out with friends and dressing
up again then BAM, once again I am with
a young child at home and the only thing
I wear on a regular basis is puree's Squash
or applesauce. My enormous collection
of clothing and shoes and make-up and
hair products sit by them self, alone,
untouched.



SOB!


Okay this part I am going to say, you are
going to read then you will all forget I ever
said it. ( Watch the swinging crystal and repeat
after me~I will forget, I will forget!) I also
look like I have been neglecting myself. My
hair, my nails, my skin and my body even.
My poor hair has so many splits it could
give any divorce court a run for its money,


WE WILL NOT TALK ABOUT THE GREY ROOTS!



My skin is blotchy and uneven and that was
Johns favorite part of me, the fact I had even
porcelain skin, and my nails......................


1. my finger nails and cuticles look like
they have been through a salad shooter.



2. If you want to know the last color of
polish I wore on my toes just look at the
tips it is still there.



I need help and I need it bad. Before
Rowan I had my eye out for Macy's and
other makeup counter sales and stocked
up whenever they had that deal where you
buy this and get all thissssssssssss free!



I love those sales! I would always buy Concealer
and skin and cuticle cream then get the free
makeup and I do have more Eye shadows then
you can shake a stick at! I can match anything!
But the lotions and creams, well they dry up if
you don't use them and mine are gone.


I look like Heck and I have no product!
Lucky me, She' essential beauty sent
me a few items to review and the first
one was for my nails. YEAH! And the second
was a body scrub! DOUBLE YEAH! There
has never been a woman in the free world
who needed it more! The first item I tackled
was the scrub. Now I don't know how I missed
the section at better stores where body scrubs
are actually scrubs. They are like um, little
pieces of rock candy you rub on your skin.

It has been 16 years since this Mom
has needed shoes for an infant. 16 years
of changes, advancements and improvements!
That is a long time in today fast paced, ever
improving world. When I scheduled my daughters
pictures I proudly ran ( Yes, I ran, to the car at
least) to the mall to buy her a new outfit and shoes!
You see, my first child was a boy and when John and
I combined our families his children were already
past the youth stage and dang it all, I never got
to dress up a little princess!




I bought Rowan the prettiest dress I could
find but shoes were slim pickens. I broke down
and bought a pair of black dress shoes with a
little flower on them and went home satisfied.
Or so I thought.





The little girl hated them. It took everything
John and I had to keep them on her feet.
Hard and unforgiving she just didn't want
anything to do with them. I needed to find
a better solution.



Wee Squeak to the rescue!

After being picked to do a product review for
Wee Squeak shoes I was sent a pair from their
Beibi line. I was impressed right out of the gate!
Wee Squeak has shoes for kids sized 3 to 12
and the New Beibi line fits Babies size 0-24
months. Affordable and fashionable I can
see these being a staple in my house for
a long time.



http://wesqueak.net/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=beibi_girls

The box told me right off the bat these were
shoes for Eager Feet. I don't know why but I
got the biggest kick out of that. Then again, they
don't know my Rowan who has been trying to
stand since she was a month old. I doubt you
can get anymore eager then that.

The shoes I picked were the Tyler Hot Pink
Baby Shoe so I ran ( yes, again) to her closet to
pick out one of her many pink outfits. I told you,
I have been waiting 16 years to play dress up.
She got all dolled up as John laced up those
cute little suckers and on they went.


We sat her up and she glared at them for a few
moments, I am sure she was having flashbacks
to the other shoes she wore less then two weeks
earlier. Then she saw the colors and they grabbed
her interest and she wanted them. Most likely in her
mouth but she wanted them none the less. Soon
she was standing and not long after that she didn't
even know she had them on. That's the part I liked.
They didn't bother her for these shoes are so
soft and flexible its like wearing socks. They are
also durable enough to stand up to the torture
my very busy little girl is giving them. Did
I mention they are adorable? I found a new shoe
line for our house and I can't wait until she is
in the regular line of Wee Squeak with the Squeakers
build right in. Every shoe I saw on their web site was
just to die for!



I messed around with the shoes for a bit before and
after she was wearing them searching for signs of
weakness for I am very afraid of her insatiable quest
to explore and take everything she sees apart. I pulled
at the seems and yanked on everything yankable and
these shoes are well crafted and if her feet stayed
this size would last a long time. They also mesh to
fit the foot and that is such a good thing for me for
my daughter has inherited the family tradition of
having Fred Flintstone feet .I could not find one thing
wrong with these babies and I looked. I might even let
her put them in her mouth. That's where everything
ends up anyways! My only complaint about these
shoes is they do not make them in sizes for my
16 year old son and 12 year old step daughter!
HINT HINT!!



http://wesqueak.net/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=WS&Category_Code=beibi_girls


I have to say I give these shoe Props for they are everything I hoped they would be and Rowan gives them a big old two pacifiers up!!

Aveeno



I Love Aveeno so I was very excited to get a full sized bottle
of Aveeno's New Baby Essential Moisture Shampoo.It comes in
a simple bottle with a push up top that is easy to open, even with
slippery hands. To me it looked a little thick, more like a conditioner
then a baby shampoo but I thought, "hey, its new, let's give it a
whirl."
The label told me it was made with natural Wheat, and Oat, and
Vitamin but I would have liked to have known what kind of Vitamin.
It also says it is lightly scented and it was true to its word. The real
test would be to see if it could live up to its Tear-Free, Cleanses and
Conditions and Rinses Easily claim as it says on the bottom of the
bottle.
My worry was would what is what I consider dreamy be safe
and suitable for my little bundle of joy with much more sensitive
skin? Rowan has our family trait of fair skin, eyes and hair and
when you are born with that type of complexion it doesn't take
much to leave you red and blotchy or worse, rashy and itchy.
I have not been able to wear any jewelry other then 18 carat or
higher my whole life because of that. Do you know how bad it
sucked to be me in the 80's and not be able to wear one dangly
over sized earring. I could already see the tell-tail signs Rowan
would suffer the same fate since when ever she spilled some
formula on her chin or neck she has gotten a rash similar to
a diaper rash and I was a little worried this would do the same
to her.
The first time I used it I found out the smell was a little
bit stronger when mixed with warm water. Not bad, but
I am not sure I would qualify it as lightly scented. Rowan
seemed to like the fact it was a little thicker then her
Johnson's Baby Shampoo and I think it has to do with
the fact it wasn't as runny and since Shampoo's seem to be a
little colder then the water around them it kind of shocks
her when you put this first bit on her. With her old Shampoo
it starts to run right away so the cold spreads. This stuff
stays right where you put it and allows for you to get your
hands in there to warm it up right away.
I am not going to tell you there were doves and butter-
flys floating around with Julie Andrews singing in the back-
ground for Rowan is not a bath lover and no matter how great
a product is her fussing is going to make it enjoyable.
BUT- the Aveeno Worked great Cleaned her up in a snap.
Just the right amount of suds and rinsed off super easy and
more importantly clean. No residue.
After rinsing her I held my breath ( Really, I did!) and
brought her to her room to get dressed. I was waiting for
her skin to turn blotchy and hit a shade of red that is not
humanly possible. Guess what? It didn't! I could not
believe my eyes. I will definitely buy this again for that
reason alone. How can you not love a product that does
just what it says it does?
The only draw back is the price. Like most Aveeno
items it is on the step side. It can be found at most
retail locations and drug stores for around 5 dollars.
About 2 dollars more then her old brand but to me
it is worth it. The old saying holds true in this case.
"You get what you pay for!"



I give this a big two thumbs up







 and Rowans review is five pacifiers!