From one Mommy...

One of my best and longest friends Tiana is having her 1st baby.. a little girl due February 1st!! I am SO excited for her and her husband and I can NOT wait to see their baby girls beautiful face! Anyhoo, just thought I'd share some of MY opinions on the baby items on the market these days! 

Here is the Mom to be!!

3rd lady from the left/or middle right.

These are only MY OPINIONS with what has worked well with my kids! 

• Great Mommy website when it comes to questions about what is safe while nursing, and other questions.. KellyMom.com  
• love target wipes.. even Walmart wipes are good now. I do NOT like Kroger wipes.
• Problem: teething- Teething tablets seem to work until the pain reaches a certain point. We have had good luck with night time oral gel & I LOVE teething strips (if you can find them).. all natural made by Humphrey's. Frozen bagels are also a good thing when cutting teeth. (learned that this time around with K). I do not recommend teething biscuits since baby K bit off a chunk and almost choked. 
• Problem: diaper rash- I've had lots of luck clearing up bad rashes by putting oatmeal in an old sock, tying a knot and dropping it along with the baby in a bath. We also use Desitin and that has worked well. 
• I love pampers diapers when they're newborn. An affordable favorite of mine when they're a bit older are Luv's. We're also fans of Kroger  diapers (believe it or not). The few times we used Target diapers.. we had no luck. Leaks galore. But I think each baby bum is different! 
• Laundry detergent.. I used Dreft for the first few loads, but my kids had no problem using our regular detergent. 
• My favorite baby lotion, soap, ect is Johnson&Johnson.. can't beat that scent! 
• Baby apparatus.. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the bouncy seat. Mine was from a consignment store and has 3 different recline positions and it vibrates. My boys lived in that thing! They weren't so much into the swing. As far as older baby items, E loved the excersaucer and jumper.. K just prefers my arms. ;) Neither boy liked the Bumbo seat. 
• Baby sling.. I don't have a good one to recommend.. but I can say stay clear of the NoJo Sling. The one time I used it for about an hour.. my neck and back killed for a good month. 
• Front carrier.. Baby Bjorn. Go for the name brand.. you can find great deals on Craigslist or consignment sales! (Just ask Ali!!)
• If you plan to nurse just nurse.. In my experience trying to pump to help engorgement just made matters worse. Just sticking to nursing the baby naturally helped things and I was better in the end. Obviously if you need to pump.. just pump!! 
• Buy a stretchy blanket and SWADDLE that baby! 
• The Happiest Baby on the Block is a must see for any soon to be parent!! Check out THIS SITE  for more information! It worked wonders for us!!! 

   Snuggle that little bundle every chance you get. She will be running around with one blink of your eye! That's all I can think of for now, hope it is helpful in some way! 

I love you T.. you're going to be such a great Mama!!! 

CUTE PIE

When Ezra was little he did "mean eyes".

 Looks like little Kingsley is following in big brothers footsteps.

It's so cute when you ask to see the mean eyes and get this super grumpy face. 

 And so I don't leave you wondering.. here's a side shot. 

What goofy kids I have!! 

I hope you all have a great weekend! I get the rest of the night off because Tony and Ezra are hanging for 'boys night'. Tomorrow I get to check out a venue with my sis for her WEDDING! So exciting!! I'm off to organize, clean and relax!!!!

Christmas was good to my kitchen..

well.. Christmas was actually good to me in every way.. but my kitchen got quite the sprucing up! My Aunt made this table runner.

seriously. How cute is that? I just LOVE the colors. And for my two little cowboys... place mats! 

You might notice the adorable birdies perched on the table. Salt n pepper shakers from my dear 'ol Mom! (Pier 1).

I think it's so funny every year my mom says "This year you won't get as many presents.. I'm realllly cutting back this time!" EVERY year. And each and every single year she gets us more presents than I can even imagine. Every one was so generous to us this year! Even my sister's fiance's parents!! What?? I didn't even see that one coming. His sweet mom & dad hooked me up with tons of cake baking essentials. (To support my newest hobby.)

Anyway, my cabinets were due for a DESPERATE organizing.. as you can clearly see.

bathroom before

bathroom after

 kitchen before

kitchen after

Ok, off to get  a few things done around the house. 

Looking at the snow outside and dreaming of spring. Live in the moment Nicole, live in the moment!!! 

health, husband, and weaning babies...

less whining+more laughing+jumping on beds+venturing into public places=

 the boys are feeling better!!! 

That makes me a happy Mama. It is SO not an easy task to take care of 2 sick boys, so I'm glad the little fellas are back on their feet. Speaking of feet... Kingsley is QUICK. I guess he's trying to keep up with his brother! He'll be running before I know it.

Having a husband who is getting a degree in an accelerated program is not always easy. He'll be getting his bachelors with only 2.5 years of schooling. It requires him to be at the computer doing home work every night when the boys go to bed, and at nap time on the weekend. That leaves us with just about no time with each other. But he has finished his work for the week end.. and we get time together!! I plan to be cuddled up on the couch with a good movie later on tonight. Well have a great week end! OH .. and to leave you with this thought.. I think I may never be done breast feeding (I hope that won't be too awkward for Kingsley later in life). Kingsley,(who is screaming in his crib right now) does not want to be weaned... 

Hello! I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! We sure did! Well.. life has been crazy.. but we're alive! Just so you don't think I forgot about this blog.. I've decided to share this with you: 

the many faces of Ezra Mann

Yup. We've decided that he is destined to be a class clown. He is one funny kid!!! 

More to come here once my children recover from ear infections and we're back on our feet. XO!