These are a few of my favorite things…

If only “snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes” could have the disclaimer of not threatening to make me late for work!

So I’ve wanted to write this post for awhile as there happen to be a few material things that I “couldn’t live without.”  They mostly have simplicity and efficiency in common; a combination that wins me over every time since it just tends to make life run just that much smoother.  Ok.  Less cryptic.  More specifics.

#1.  Breathe Right Strips:  my most recent discovery thanks to my mother-in-law and one that I wished I’d made much sooner.  You get a head-cold.  You happen to be pregnant.  You can’t take anything.  Vicks vapor can’t even dream of getting in your nasal passages, let alone work some sort of magic.  I have gone from 3-4 weeks of stuffed-up-mouth-breathing at night involving getting up at least once to blow my nose and take a drink to moisten my sandpaper mouth… to a full night’s sleep followed by waking up with my mouth shut.  Lifechanging.  I kid you not.

#2.  Diaper liners: another discovery I wish I made a year ago.  I figure that even if the thing only catches HALF the poop, that’s half the time I spend rinsing our cloth diapers!  You just pick up that heavy-duty-toilet-paper-esque  strip full of doo and flush it away!  I am not sure the brand that we use, but it comes in a roll.   And placing a strip of it over the cloth portion of the diaper couldn’t be simpler.

Along with this is a quick shout-out to Best Bottom cloth diapers.  Ridiculously easy to use and simple to clean.  We’ve been having issues with bad leg gusset stretching, but our local retailer has really good customer service and we’re brainstorming how to keep that from happening to our 2nd set of replacements (such as different washing strategies/detergent due to our hard water.)  So besides that eventual issue, we love them.  I’d imagine the “one-size” capability will make having a toddler and an infant pretty easy, instead of lugging around two different size disposables everywhere.  Oh, and we’ve taken a nearly week-long trip with these.  If you have an extra large wet/dry bag, it’s a cinch!  You bring back just as many bags as you leave with, so it’s not really any trouble to bring them with!

#3.  NUK Trendline learner cups.  The silicone spout ones.  They don’t leak (unless your child squishes it upside-down if they get bored while eating).  If I could do it again, I’d purchase the latex spout kind and replace the spouts with the silicone ones.  For whatever reason, the latex CUPS stay nice and clear while the silicone ones seem to get that foggy plastic look after many washes.  The latex just look cleaner.  The silicone spouts work amazingly well though.  I’ve had two latex versions, both of which leaked pretty badly.  And the best part is that the spouts and lids fit together simply, are easy to wash, and also fit on the 10 oz Active Cup for bigger kiddos.  No random assortment of cups/lids in our cupboard!

On the subject of NUK, I also love their snap-lid bowls.  They don’t leak AT ALL and are pretty straight forward and simple. (I believe Gerber has a similar bowl that is also awesome.)

#4.  Our Magic Bullet.  John and I went through Kohls yesterday and saw that they now have a Baby Bullet.  I’d just go for the “real deal.”  The original has much larger blending cups.  I used that thing A TON when Rowan was starting out on foods and have continued to use it for chewy or harder things since he’s a late teether.  I even blend up easier stuff if his mouth seems to be really sensitive on a certain day to avoid painful chewing.  The Magic Bullet + “Super Baby Foods” book by Ruth Yaron + Sensible Lines Freezer Trays + freezer ziplock bags = a solid year of exclusive home-made baby food.  Ruth talks about making large batches at once and I ended up with a variety of foods for a month after a good solid evening of cooking.  I mixed them to make yummy combinations and sent them with Daddy in our NUK bowls.  (Interesting note: Pureed sticks of raspberries and other fruit are adult-friendly ways to add fruit to smoothies, oatmeal, or icecream!)

#5.  My Timex Ironman Triathlon wristwatch.  I love this watch.  I’m on my second since the bands kinda stink, but it’s soooo worth it.  The backlight is perfect for my nocturnal blindness to avoid reaching out of warm covers t0 check my phone.  The stopwatch feature is really easy to use, and I use it constantly.  (Timing Rowan’s naps/time outs, my lunch break, work-related tasks that require me coming back in 5/8/10 minutes….).  And…. (drumroll)…. It’s WATERPROOF to 300 meters.  I can shower with it, bathe kiddo with it, and household chores galore.  Plus, it’s pretty cute and dainty for a sport watch.

Ok, that’s all for now.  There are many other things that I appreciate, but these are currently my Top 5.