Hitch a Ride on A Glider Board

Too big to stroll, too small to walk?

If you have a toddler and a baby and feel like you may not really need a double stroller, you should consider a toddler board to attach to your current stroller.  Check out my Review Site for a great review of the Baby Jogger Glider Board. 

 

I actually use the board with Carson (our 4 year old) while Helen Strolls, but she was the only one available for today’s picture!
        (and she is the cutest little assistant ever!)
Carson walks most the time, but for longer treks he gets a ride every now and then on the glider board.  I also use it with a 3 year old friend in our “walk pool” to school. 

I know everyone is thinking “just have another baby” and Helen could claim the Glider Board.   Sorry… not gonna happen right now.  But it is comforting to know we have ample stroller seating available.  

Now enough about that, go and see how great the Glider Board is for yourself.  And I’ll let you in on a secret…. there is a super embarrassing video of me… I admit it… I HATE doing Vlogs. 

When in the City…

Stroll as the city dwellers stroll. 

I learned quickly upon moving to DC and attempting to walk the brick sidewalks that the word “Graco” is a foreign word here.  No offense to the one of the top baby conglomerates in the world...you served me well through 2 babies.

But here on these sidewalks, those stroller systems just don’t cut it.   You need something with good tires, comfy seating, easy folding.  You need to be able to push it with one hand. 

It became very clear to me that strollers I once thought were luxury strollers, are necessity strollers here.  Here, these strollers are some people’s second car.  For some people, it is their only car. 

For us, we stuck with the sit and stand for a few months while working with our big kids on walking city sidewalks.  I felt our older 2 were too big for us to get a double stroller, but I needed a better stroller for Helen. 

I came across a brand that has been around forever, but I really only ever knew them for their Jogging Strollers.

We ended up with a Baby Jogger City Elite Stroller…
And we LOVE  it! To read a complete review of this stroller,
head on over to my Review Site. 

Who’s cup is this Anyway??

Have kids, will label.  It’s a motto I like to live by now.

If you have kids, you have stuff, and if you have stuff… it all gets lost all the time, wherever you go.  Lost, I tell you.  If I got paid for every sippy cup I have lost over the years, I might be able to put a child through college…or at least a couple months of Preschool.

So, let me introduce you to
Day # 2 of our

Stocking Stuffer Giveaway 


Mabel’s Labels to the Rescue!

Hop on over to my Review site for an AWESOME Giveaway…
Where there just might be 3 swanky prize packs for you today!

~~~~~

Also, you still have 2 more days to enter to win a copy of
Totally Desperate Mom

~~~~~

*We love to hear from you! Please leave a comment , join us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter !

Black Friday Shopping

Who needs to wake up at 5:00 am to go to stores when there are so many great deals online?  Enjoy the day today with your family, take a long walk to work off all that delicious eating yesterday, and sit back and relax.    Cyber Monday will be in full swing on Monday, and actually many sites are already launching killer deals.

As for me, I’ll be skipping the shopping lines..

And hanging out with these turkeys instead.

 

But Little Llamas didn’t want to be left out of all the Cyber deals next week… So we are having a

Stocking Stuffer Giveaway

All week long!

 

That’s right… Come back next week, and every day we will be featuring an item here and offering some awesome giveaways, and discounts.  So if you like shopping, jewelry, reading, working out, labeling (just to give you some hints), you won’t want to miss these awesome giveaways.   

And the best part…. 
              There’s no waking up at 5:00 am for these doorbusters!

 

See you Monday!

Llama Loves--I am a Lover of Baby Wearing.

I will be the first to admit that I am far from 
an attachment parent.  I don’t do extended breastfeeding, I don’t co-sleep, I do believe in spanking….

 

Charlotte at 7 months
In the New Native
(too big on me, but it was our first sling)

 

 

 

 

However, one thing I LOVE is baby wearing.

 
Carson at 4 months in the New Native
(it worked better in the cradle position for me)

  I branched out and bought a ring sling – which I LOVED
(FYI—the shoulder of a ring sling really should be spread out over your shoulder more, and not so far up on my neck)

And then I bought a 2nd hand buckle tai for $20 as I knew I wasn’t going to be into the tying of a regular mai tai.   
It was a great little carrier…  but not super easy for me to use.

Then against all odds I won an Ergo in a raffle. 
I remember entering my $5 thinking… that was just a waste.
And then I won!   I wish I had video taped my response.
Not that I endorse gambling of any sort.

 

  

With Baby #3, I was grabbing carriers left and right. 
But my trusty ring sling is my favorite for newborn froggy holds.

But it didn’t take long to be able to pop Helen in the Ergo
(With big babies like mine, I passed on the infant insert and just froggy’d their legs until they could pop them out)

We still occasionally grab the ring sling,
though the arching of the back tantrum is not too compatible
with this sling

For now, we love our Ergo and it is like
calming waters to this restless little llama.   
At 14 months I am milking the baby wearing as long as I can

I will be SO sad when my Baby Wearing days are over.

If you are new to baby wearing,
I would recommend you check out the following sites:

Peppermint.com – Guide to Baby Wearing is a great site with information as well as slings to buy

The Baby Wearer—is a forum with information on ALL kinds of slings and carriers.  But also a For Sale Forum where you can usually find
a used carrier, and sell your used carriers.  (but I warn you…there are some SERIOUS baby wearers on that site…it is overwhelming to me at times.  So I recommend going in with a carrier in mind to ask about.

Friends and strangers—the best way to learn about a carrier is to ask someone who is wearing it and see if you can borrow it, or try it on.  I remember when I had just had Charlotte I was in Walmart and I asked a stranger about her sling and she asked if I want to try “it” on…  Babywearers are usually very excited about their slings.  So ask them! 

What is your favorite Baby Carrier??

 

*I am linking up with Things I love Thursday over at Diaper Diaries and Just for the Joy of It over at Good, True and Beautiful!

Shepherding and Instructing…Fabulous and Free!

How do I parent my children?
How do I speak to their hearts and not just their behavior?

 Shepherding a Child’s Heart is an amazing resource for the new parent or parent of very young children.  It is full of Biblical Principles that clearly show the need for parental authority and Biblical Discipline

Instructing a Child’s Heart is geared toward how we as parents can use scripture daily as we lead our children in all areas of life.  It really builds upon the foundation that Shepherding a Child’s Heart laid out.

These are both excellent books that every parent
should have in their library.

And now you have a chance to win both of them!

I am teaming up with Janna from The Adventure of Motherhood
and Shepherd Press to bring you this great giveaway. 

Janna has written a chapter by chapter review of
Shepherding a Child’s Heart.  And her review blows anything I would have tried to say out of the water! 

So, How can You win these Great books?

1-Leave a comment HERE at Little Llamas
Let me know one of your children’s great qualities

2- Leave a Comment over at Janna’s review of Shepherding a Child’s Heart
Let her know which chapter speaks the most to what you are going through in your parenting.

3- Tweet about this Giveaway!
”I just entered to win a 2 amazing parenting books from @LittleLlamas and @AdventureMomJ”  -- Let us know you tweeted!

4- Subscribe to Little Llamas, Adventure of Motherhood or Follow us on Twitter  Just let us know you did!

1 Winner will be chosen from the combined entries from both blogs on Monday by Random.org!

**Rules**
No duplicate comment entries.
This giveaway is open to US Residents aged 18 and older.

Be sure to make there is a way to contact you in your comment
Winners will be selected via random draw, and will notified by e-mail.
Winner has 48 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

Add a little dash of …

 

Can you see it now??
I added a little more back into the picture.

I must say…. I loved your guesses.
Immersion blender, icecream maker, Espresso maker,
toilet bowl cleaner? 

Nope.

Okay… Okay…
It’s a Salt Pig.

You heard me…
A Salt Pig.

I remember the first time I saw them I scoffed, I laughed…
I swore I would never own one of those things.
I thought probably exactly what you just thought…
”why on earth would you want a big jar of salt on your counter?”
Oh…contraire.

There are many versions of the Salt Pig

For those of you with the big bucks, there’s the swanky Emile Henry.

 

And this one even has cute little pig ears.

 

Mine was $4 on sale. And it was red… and I am a sucker for buying anything red for my kitchen.

But why Mama Llama, do I need a Salt Pig?

Well, you don’t. 
But when you are cooking and it calls for a dash of salt or a tsp of salt…it just isn’t as fun reaching above your oven for the jar of this.

When you could have this

 

Sitting on the counter asking for you to dash away.
Making you feel like Bakerella, or Pioneer Woman.
Just twirl around the kitchen a grab a dash of salt…
Makes you want to put on one of those trendy flirty aprons

Or at least for me…
It just makes me feel a little more gourmet
than the chicken nuggets I just heated up in the oven. 
I honestly have giggled over the joy my little salt pig has given me.
Pure, good, domestic, culinary joy. 

And far be it from me, to keep my joy from you.
I must share my love of the Salt Pig.

May your lives and your dinner be well sprinkled with love…
And plenty of Salt.

Feed Me Books: Love

I am joining in with Feed Me Books Friday
over at Adventures in Motherhood

This week the theme was children’s books about Love.

Most of all'>Most of All Jesus Loves You!
by Noel Piper

This is a great book about Jesus Loving us. 
My children love this book!
(so much so that we have a few torn very well loved pages)

It goes through all the family members, friends, teachers
and tells the child how much they are loved. 
But in the end, it shares that Jesus loves you MOST OF ALL!

What a sweet message, and SO true.
A reminder that even we adults need to hear too, don’t you think?

Hope you all have a Great Weekend!

One… Two… Three!

Admit it… we’ve all done that.  
Get your shoes on before I count to three…or else.

Enter Ginger Plowman.

This is by far one of my favorite parenting books. 
We read this when Charlotte was 15 months…
Again when Carson was about 14 months…
And I go to it often for encouragement and back up in my parenting.

This book is FULL of scriptural principles and teaching
for parenting and particularly discipline.  
Principles I so desperately need to practice more often!

A Few Highlights from the Book:

• Reaching the heart of your children
• Using Biblical terms in correcting vs worldly terms
• Correcting with Scripture
• Leading children to obedience (obeying God and parents)
• Not making light of sin
• Knowing the difference between disobedience and childishness
• How to give a Biblical reproof
• How to carry out healthy Biblical discipline

I am so convicted about my parenting as I even write this out.
This book truly grounds you in a solid foundation of scripture and is a resource every parent should have! 

If you have infants, I recommend reading it from ages 12-16m (or earlier) to really prepare you as you enter into those disobedient toddler years.

If you have toddlers or preschoolers, I recommend reading it as a reminder of Biblical parenting.  I have learned from many friends sometimes you need to hit “restart” on your parenting an discipline techniques.  We have had to do this many times and “revamp” our parenting. I think we need to do it again soon!

Have you read this book? 
What are you favorite principles from it?

Haven’t read this book? 

Well…Good news. 
Because this is none other than…

~Fabulously Free February~

Shepherd Press has graciously offered to give away one free copy of “Don’t Make me Count to Three” by Ginger Plowman
to one of my readers.

How can I win this great parenting book??

1-Leave a comment
Just Leave a comment—any comment.  Most challenging parenting struggle right now, favorite verse to use in correction, etc

2- Tweet about this Giveaway!
I just entered to win a free copy of “Don’t Make me Count to Three” from @Littlellamas

Come back and leave a comment that you did!

3- Subscribe to Little Llamas or Follow me on Twitter
Just let me know you did!

Winner will be chosen Thursday by Random.org!

Rules:
No duplicate comment entries.
This giveaway is open to US Residents aged 18 and older.

Be sure to make there is a way to contact you in your comment
Winners will be selected via random draw, and will notified by e-mail.
Winner has 48 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

Flitterbugs!

Woo Hoo!

I just found out I won a custom made dress from Flitterbugs!
The Giveaway was hosted by We Are That Family.

I chose the short sleeve Flitterbug Dress,
and ordered a 2nd one for Helen to match.

What is exciting about this online store,
is that all of their proceeds for towards their adoption fund
to bring home a precious child from Ethiopia. 

This is especially exciting to me as I have 2 friends who just recently brought home babies from Ethiopia, and one in the middle of the process.

Hop on over to Flitterbugs and
help this family bring home their child!
(they have adorable things for boys too!)

Feed me Books Friday

I am joining in with Feed me Books Friday

Over at The Adventures in Motherhood
~~~

Below are some of our favorite bedtime books at the moment.

First up is Snip Snap Croc
This is one of my children's favorite books lately.
They love the mamas and their babies and the rhyming of the words.

 

 

Next we have Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Of course this is pretty much the classic story…
But with captivating illustrations some creative additions to the text.

 

And my list of good-reads wouldn't be complete without
LLama Llama Red Pajama
This is surely a classic in our herd of Llamas!

 

Happy reading… hop on over to Adventures in Motherhood to link up and share some of YOUR favorite Children’s books.  Maybe share a few of your top Library finds this week? 

I am looking forward to finding some new books to add to my list!

Let me just share....

That  I love ....

They are light, fluffy, melt in your mouth goodness...

They are chocolate...

They are only 60 calories...

I hid them in the back of the fridge so the kids don't even know they exist...

And did I mention they were Chocolate??

Yummy.... chocolatey...moussey...goodness. 

Looking for a healthy "sneaky" treat??? 

Try some of these Jell-O Indulgence Chocolate Mousse cups today! 
And then get ready to say "Yum-O".... and hide them from your kids!


**PS--- No one is paying me to say this....But when it involves Chocolate...I just have to share!**

Gloria Vanderbilt...

What in the WORLD do Gloria Vanderbilt and I have in common?

To be honest, not much....

But I must admit I have found a favorite new pair of jeans. They are fabuloso! And you guessed it...
The brand is Gloria Vanderbilt.

I have officially entered into the world on Mom Jeans. I mean really... Gloria Vanderbilt? Just report me to the fashion police RIGHT NOW!

But wait... these are not your typical mom jeans.

These jeans are great. They have a nice flare leg (flare is still in, right?) I am sorry but skinny jeans aren't EVER going to look good on me... or you, or most people. Unless you are 13 and 85 lbs. So, Flare is for me, it evens out the nice curviness in my thrice used birthing hips. (yes, thrice is a word)

However much I would LOVE a pair of these or these jeans, since I hear they are THE jeans to own.... I currently do not have $200 just sitting around, nor will I be buying a pair of jeans that expensive ever....unless I want my husband to kill me and thus be buried in the $200 jeans I just bought.

But... if I ever do lose these last 15 lbs of baby weight (3 babies = thrice the baby weight...there's that word again) I might just scope out Ebay for a good deal.

Back to my new fav jeans...

I got them at Kohls... I know, your mom's favorite store.... Now one of my favorite stores. These jeans have a nice stretch (wait, I already mentioned that) Flare, and... oh yes, a MID- waist.

Please moms... if you are playing on the floor with your kids, I do not want to see your bottom crack... nor does anyone else playing with you at playgroup. :) Do us all a favor and retire the ultra low rise jeans for good. My mid-waist jeans still look awesome on, and actually hold in a little of that extra 15 lbs I mentioned earlier!
I bought myself a size 8....but I hope to splurge another $21 (did I mention they were on sale?)and go out and buy another pair in a size 6 in a few months.
Here's Hoping! And Here's to a great pair of fitting jeans for the fall.
Thank You Gloria!

PS-- for all those who are headed to Kohls to buy yourself an awesome pair of jeans, I bought the Isabelle in flair, in a mid-dark color . Not the lightest--too casual for me, not the darkest---the dark ones back button pockets and i don't like pocket flaps. They also have boot-cut, but I recommend the flair.

**UPDATE---The rumors are true.  Gloria stopped making the flair Isabelle jeans.  Gasp.  I have found the Amandas (yuck).  The best way to find the Isabelle is on Ebay (just search Gloria Vanderbilt flair, because most people don't know they are called Isabelle). I actually just bought a pair on Ebay...they are a little longer than my own, and seem bigger... but the fit is still superb. I can get the hemmed.   I also spent some time at a "nicer" Goodwill and found 4 size 8 GV jeans, but no Isabelles.   BooBoo.... Any one else have similar jeans they love??