Real reviews from a real momma.... Ergo baby carrier and Zooper Tango(2009 version)

Real reviews from a real momma....

So I've decided that I have to share some of my favorite products baby related, craft related and home related... these are things I use daily.. or weekly or once in a while.. things I love and wonder how I lived with out it and things I can live with out and wish I'd not spent my money on...

So here we go....
Baby must haves....

Ergo baby carriers .....
I finally bit the bullet and bought one, I bought the Heart Rose Ergo carrier off of www.Babysteals.com for $60.95 + shipping... and honestly its the pretties thing I've bought, and its so comfortable and supportive for both my back and my daughter, she falls asleep in it all the time .. I never bought one with my 1st child and when #2 came along I needed something that would be supportive to both me and baby girl ...

Pro's ... Comfortable to wear for long periods of time , stylish , easy to wear over top of a winter jacket or regular clothing , both my 2year old and my 5 month old love being in it, my 2 year old is 37 pounds and I have worn him in it for about 35mins while on a walk.. and I can wear my 5 month old in it for just about the whole day... Very little back strain or shoulder tension occurred while wearing it.. holds its re-sale value if your planing on reselling it when your done with it.. My daughter loves to snuggle and ride on my back in this carrier... good from new born up to 45 pounds... the prints are amazing , and there are a few different styles.. not to mention the variety of accessories ...

Con's.... Regular price is $105-$135 + shipping which is out side of most peoples price range..., Slightly larger than most carriers , baby can only face the wearer or go on the back.. so no front facing option..
http://www.ergobabycarrier.com/


Zooper Tango .. Double stroller...
So I have a two year old Son and 5 month old Daughter and both of them are stroller kids.. they like to be in it.. they like to take naps in the stroller if we're out for a while.. so I needed a stroller that worked for both of them...
I tried out a few styles and came to the conclusion that my son didnt like any stroller that he had to sit in the back... so a side by side was needed... I didnt need a jogging style stroller like the BOB as I was never planning on running with it.. I wrote down all my "needs" in a stroller and figured out a ZOOPER TANGO would work for us...
Pro's .... Folds flat ( 14 inches thick once folded ) and fits into the trunk of my Honda Accord, it had a mommy cup holder, two large mommy pockets in the back of each hood , and a large under carriage storage... . The sun hoods are great and when seated in the full up right position as they completely cover the child, the foot muff is fantastic in cold months and is better than a blanket as it snaps in place... each seat folds flat for a fully reclined sleep position and the multi adjustable security straps are easy to use and are "kid proof" ... the new 2011 colour range is AMAZING .. the seat covers come off to wash . and it fits through every door I've encountered and I've only needed to remove the mommy cup holder once or twice to make it through the door.. We bought ours online and the year old style made it a great deal at nearly half price ... we loved the colour and didnt care that it wasn't the most current one on the market.. ( by the way the 2011 tangos have the most beautiful colours this season.) For a double stroller is not really that heavy weighing in at 12kg's I can easily pick it up and put it in the trunk... I like how simple it is to collapse or set up... not alot of fussing with this one to get the kids in and out of ...

Con's... No snack tray option for the older kids , Washing the seat cover isnt as easy to remove and put back on as one would hope... can only accommodate one infant car seat at a time, $400 price tag might be more than some people can spend ..
http://www.zooper.com

It's done... It's done... Mr. K's memory baby blanket is done !!!!

So mrK is 2 and 1/2 and his memory baby blanket is finally done !!!!
Here's what I did....
Collected and saved my favorite baby clothing that I couldn't part with and kept it until I had about 35 squares worth.. so either 35 items or for the most part you can get about 2 squares out of each clothing item... my squares are 12X12 inches but you could make yours any size . Decide how large you want your quilt to be, with mine it ended up being just about a double size.... and if your more of a quilter than I am you could go "nuts" but I chose to stick with a basic patch work squares style quilt... so if you can sew a straight line then you could do this too...
then once your squares are cut out... lay them out on your floor.. to get your "pattern" of squares... try to space out "same colours" and patterns...
then once you have your layout done... sew each row together sides to sides... then once you have your top row done... sew the second row together.. sides to sides.. and then the third row.. and so on and so on.. once all your rows are sewn together... sew the rows to each other... top to bottom..
try your best to have the same amount of seam allowance for each seam.. then when you sew the rows together the corners will all line up and look perfect ...
For the back of mine I used two kinds of flannel ones a dino print and one is a solid blue... I also "framed" the patch quilt with the solid blue flannel ...and used a quilting batting to "stuff" the blanket ... another option for the "not so savvy " sewers ... use a "ready made" comforter or if your making a smaller blanket use one of their favorite blankets for the back or even a receiving blanket... or sew together a few receiving blankets for your backing ... or if you have enough squares you can make the whole thing out of squares...
I used an assortment of buttons at each corner to "tuft" the blanket you could "quilt" it too.. I just found the buttons looked cute and my son loves to point out the really big ones and the special shaped ones...
I washed all the fabrics before cutting and sewing to avoid shrinking... and when I do launder this special blanket I recommend a gentle cycle and hang or lay flat to dry....

other detail ideas .... I wanted to remember how little mr K was so I took my favorite sleeper and sewed it directly onto the blanket... I 1st sewed the sleeper flat... and sewed it up so it couldn't be opened... I also sewed in a favorite bib... and a couple of shirts I left the collars on them.... I love him in collared tops ..... and I sewed the sleeves into some of the squares... I loved the little flip ends :)
have fun with it... make it your own.. it can either hang on a wall or be used... my son loves to cuddle in his and drive his cars all over it :)