Personalized baby clothes from smarteepantsclothing.com

My son’s second birthday is on July 26th, 2008. We’re having a birthday party for him, and will be inviting our families and a few close friends (oh hai Jason, Danielle, Matt!). While we all know he’s the special birthday boy, I would love to put him in something cute that makes him stand out.

I’m checking out Smartee Pants Clothing, and I’m thinking I have a few ideas. But my favorite idea so far is the personalized crown tee:

The personalized crown tee features a navy blue crown on a white or baby blue t-shirt or long-sleeved shirt. The name can be customized to reflect anything you’d like. In our case, we would put Ryan, or even Birthday Boy. Sizes range from 3/6mo to size 8.

In addition to the personalized crown tee, Smartee Pants Clothing has many other personalized baby, child, adult and maternity wear, in a variety of colors, sizes and styles. Many items come with crystals and rhinstones on them, and all items are made right here in the USA.

Thinking about checking out SmarteePantsClothing.com? Don’t forget to look over their new items, onesies and diaper covers, and take advantage of the cheap flat rate shipping fee!

Smartee Pants Clothing

Smartee Pants Clothing is a cute online clothing store. They carry sassy clothing and sassy accessories for babies, toddlers, children, teens, adults and pregnant women! Their products consist of designer baby clothes that are perfect for everyday outfits, or to give as gifts to moms-to-be and kids. If you’re looking for a gift, look no further than the Mommy and Me sets, gifts for brides, gifts for older siblings, and gifts for the new baby too!

Smartee Pants Clothing has a lot to offer, but I think my two favorite items are the diaper covers and the cupcake birthday shirt. The cupcake birthday shirt is perfect for any little girl who is celebrating a birthday! It comes in white or pink, short-sleeved or long-sleeved, and comes in sizes ranging from 6-12mo to 8! In addition to a beautiful crystal cupcake on the shirt, you can add the birthday’s girl name in red, lime green, aquamarine or pink!

For more, check out Smartee Pants Clothing!

My little secret about baby shower favors

So here is my dirty little secret: I didn’t have a baby shower, for either of my children. My pregnancy with Alyssa was unexpected, so we didn’t even tell most people until a few months after I first found out I was pregnant with her (the exception being my mom and my husband’s mom). And then we were busy trying to get situated financially and find a bigger place to live in, so the discussion of having a baby shower never came up.

Sometimes, when I check out baby shower favors, I feel bad that I never got to experience the fun of a coordinated and scheduled party to celebrate my pregnancy and upcoming baby. But most of the time, it really doesn’t bother me. I may have not enjoyed a baby shower, but both my husband and I had our families rally around us, and be very supportive of us. And we still got plenty of baby gifts.

Did you have a baby shower?

First birthday planning was simple!

Planning my son’s first birthday was a breeze. Before he was born I had been hooked on Classic Pooh, so it made perfect sense to use Classic Pooh for his first birthday party.

But this year has been tougher. Despite my son being my youngest, my baby, he’s turning two, and so those adorable, cuddly little birthday party themes that are so perfect for a first birthday aren’t really appropriate for a second birthday.

Did I mention that my son’s birthday is in a month and six days? Last night I FINALLY settled on a theme:

It’s a good thing that everyone who is invited already knows of the date the party will be on, since you should send out the birthday party invitations at least six weeks in advance! At this rate they’ll be getting them three weeks prior to the party. Oops! Oh well, at least the invitations will be on their way.

Who needs a yard sale?

Last month several flyers were put up in the neighborhood, advertising a community yard sale on June 28th. As much as I’d like to participate, I don’t think I’m going to be up to it. I wouldn’t mind adding some baby clothes, toys and household items to the other items and bassinets that my neighbors are getting together, but we’re leaving for a three day vacation at the New Jersey shore on Tuesday morning, and will be returning on Thursday night. The next two days will be spent catching up on housework, taking care of the cats (eep: note to self: CALL MOM ABOUT CHECKING ON THE CATS!) and doing laundry. Then, on Sunday, Dan and I are going to Dorney Park.

June is really turning out to be a busy month!

A very nice birthday

My 24th birthday was on June 13th. I still can’t believe I’m 24. It’s weird to say. Oh well. I go through this every year. I think the hardest jump was from 19 to 20. Suddenly I was two decades old, and let me tell you, that was depressing.

But hey, I lived. Here I am, one year closer to thirty. Dan is ahead of me with only four years to go, bwahahaha, sucks to be him!

I got a lot of nice things for my birthday, though three of them are on order/IOUs. Dan got me a gift bag full of relaxing items (perfume, bath salts, a book, and a few other odds and ends), my brothers gave me a book (everyone knows I love to read!), my brothers-in-law gave me a 320GB laptop hard drive (ordered — it should be here any day now! *crosses fingers*), and Dan is getting me a new car stereo for my car. When we get our stimulus payment (it’s scheduled to be mailed out on June 27th!!!), he also wants to get me a mother’s ring. ♥ So I didn’t get any titanium rings for my birthday, but that’s okay. Titanium is on the expensive side, anyway. Just stick to my wishlistr, and you’re good!

La la la... golf!

I never thought I’d be one to really like mini-golf. As a kid, I played it once or twice and then quickly got bored of it. But I guess you see things differently as an adult. Last week I went mini-golfing with my husband, his two brothers and two sisters. Since there were six of us, it definitely took a while to get around the eighteen hole course. We had a lot of fun though, even if we weren’t that good. We all gave it our best shot, and amazingly all of us each scored a hole in one. Dan was funny: he was all about form, technique, knowing the right golf equipment to use, etc., etc. The rest of us just gave the ball a good whack! I suppose our scores reflected that, since Dan beat all of us.

Oh well. The point is to have fun! And I am improving. I think my score was 63 that day. Dan and I went mini-golfing with Jason on Wednesday night, and my score was 61. Last night I went with my mom and brothers, and my score was 58! It just goes to show you, you DO get better with practice.

I need better internet

Tonight is just one of those nights where I feel like screaming and punching something. My mom and I made plans for me to watch my brothers while she took my grandfather out to lunch. After that, they would come over here, and all of us would have time to get together and socialize.
The plan went all to hell, of course. My mom didn't even drop the boys off until around 4pm, so of course it was much later when she made the 35 minute drive to get my grandfather and take him to lunch -- which wound up being dinner.
At 6:30, she calls to tell me that it's too late to bring him over tonight, and that she was on her way to take him home, and then she'd be back.
It's now going on 10pm, and she isn't back. She should have been here two hours ago. I'm really upset, because this isn't the first time she's done this to me. I had plans tonight, but of course they'll fall through, because we have only one car (my mom is borrowing mine) and there isn't enough room to cram four kids (two of whom are in car seats) and two adults into it.

And Comcast is acting up. As usual. I'm so tempted to switch to a satellite internet provider and be done with Failcast once and for all.

T-Mobile is pissing me the heck off right now too. I can't get onto the secure area of the site to pay my grandfather's cell phone bill.

This is just NOT my night!

Caring for baby bedding

As you undoubtedly know, baby bedding is not cheap to buy. So when you do have a nice crib set for your baby, you'll want to do everything you can to take care of it. When it comes time to toss your baby bedding in the laundry pile, use the following tips to take good care of it:

• use a natural or gentle detergent, such as Dreft or Clorox Natural


• never use bleach


• wash baby bedding on cold, gentle cycles


• wash the items with like colors and materials


• line dry or flat dry blankets, comforters, dust ruffles and crib bumpers

By the following these tips, as well as any that are listed on the tags attached, you're ensuring that your baby bedding will be around and in excellent condition for many years to come.

Needed: birthday party ideas

It's so easy to find 1st birthday party ideas. See what I mean? There are hundreds of quality websites that have birthday party ideas, themes and supplies for first birthdays, but what about second birthdays? My son is turning two, and I'm stumped for what birthday theme to use. I think at this rate I'm going to have to check out Party City and pray that they have something cute that isn't too generic or overused! Wish me luck!

Trying to decide on good baby gifts

My son's second birthday is just a little over a month away. I haven't even settled on a theme for his party, what type of cake to have, what food to serve, and if the party should be indoors or outdoors (I'm leaning more towards in, simply because it's summertime and I hate to sweat!). So when people call/email me to ask for ideas for baby gifts for Ryan, I'm stumped. I don't even know what I'm getting him, and I'm his mother! How am I supposed to help you out?

Last year Ryan received a few toys, some clothes and a $50 gift card from his uncles. Honestly, that was the best gift at all. Boring for a child to open up (though at a year of age, he was more interested in gnawing on wrapping paper and flicking the bows than he was with opening and admiring his new presents), but awesome for a parent! I went shopping the next day and got him several outfits for the fall, and even found an adorable little skirt for his sister, too.

What do you think of gift cards as gifts? My husband thinks they're tacky, lazy gifts. I think they're awesome!

Baby clothes shopping

I like to shop. A lot. Prior to having kids, I loved to shop for clothes, makeup, jewelry, hair accessories, stationery, and car accessories. Now that I have kids and a household to manage, my priorities for shopping have changed. After groceries comes household necessities (cleansers and paper products), and then baby clothes for my daughter and son (who are both in 5T, so soon we'll be moving into the little kids' clothes! Ack!), then things for my husband, and finally, if there's money and energy left over, a few odds and ends for myself.

Where do I love to shop? Target and Fashion Bug. I ♥ those stores!

Selling baby bedding at a yard sale

Someone organized a yard sale in our neighborhood. It's being held on June 28th. If we're here (my husband's aunt and uncle invited us to join them at the NJ shore during the week of the 22nd-28th), I'm going to hopefully have some things to sell! Not so much because I want to stand outside in the disgusting heat and deal with bugs and maybe make ten or twenty dollars, but because it's nice to participate in neighborly events. We have lived here for over a year, and we know the people on either side of us. That's it.

So, I need to dig up some things to sell! I have some baby bedding left over from when Ryan was still using his crib, a hot sling that I really should part with, and of course, toys, books, arts and crafts stuff -- all the typical kiddie stuff you'll find most moms and dads selling during yard sales and flea market events!

What do you sell at yard sales? And what was your best find at a yard sale?

My choice of crib bedding

My favorite crib bedding is Classic Pooh. When I was pregnant with my son, the Classic Pooh frenzy started with a few adorable items I saw in Target. When my husband and I created a baby wish list, we chose all sorts of Classic Pooh items. When the baby gifts from friends and gift swaps arrived, they were Classic Pooh. And when we decorated our son’s room and went shopping for curtains, wall decals and a crib dust ruffle, we made sure to match everything to his Classic Pooh crib bedding.

What baby crib bedding themes do you like?

Consignments don't always save you money

When I was pregnant with my daughter, I found a consignment shop in our area. They had a lot of nice stuff, but I quickly found out that you don't always save as much money at a consignment shop as you think you do! Oh, I got some good deals --a very nice changing table for $25, an L.L.Bean bunting bag for $10, and various articles of clothing, books and videos for just a few dollars apiece.

But they wanted a hundred dollars or more for used bassinets with visible wear and tear on them. I'm sorry, but I'm not paying $125 for a bassinet with frayed edges, when I can pick up a lower end new one for $200 or less! And some of their clothes...oy. I'd find shirts for $5 and $6, and pants for $12 - $15. Newsflash: you can get clothes BRAND NEW for those prices. Granted, they'd be Target and the like, rather than Gap... but used Gap clothing or brand new Target clothing? Used clothes that you're paying for the brand name in order to have, or brand new?

The choice should be clear!