Happy Gifting 2

One of my girlfriends gave me a package of “Monthly Onsie Stickers” to use every month when I take GiGi’s picture.  They are so cute and make for a great photo opp … and they’re stickers … SO SMART!!!!  This might just be my unique, go-to gift from now on ... and I'll probably include a few plain white onsies in various sizes with my gift.  Check them out at etsy.com.

See other gift ideas here.


Until Next Time,

Diary of a New Mom 2

In Diary of a New Mom, Nicole discussed how to make the most of your hospital stay.  Today's she writes about her first week Top 5 essentials...


Week One Essentials
1. Gerber front snap t-shirts

2. Boppy Nursing Pillow 

3. Aden and Anais Swaddles

4. Boppy Lounger - A newborn sleeps almost all of the time the boppy lounger is perfect to plop them in on the couch next to you.  

5. Disposable nursing pads - Medela makes a great disposable pad. These were a life saver for me as I had a couple of “blow-outs” when my milk came in. (Excellent suggestion, Nicole!  Definitely stock up on these in the weeks leading up to your due date if you plan on nursing)

Thanks Nicole!  For other first few weeks tips, click here.

BOO!

I love October!  The weather turns nice, I can usually bust out some fall sweaters and boots, and it is the month of HALLOWEEN!  You know what that means...costumes, costumes, costumes!  My family is a bit extreme when it comes to costumes.   We will find any excuse to dress up.  Come to think about, not sure why I classify October as a "costume" month.  After searching through photos for this post, I realized we dress up in costumes every month of the year. Please see below...

Exhibit A:  Dressed up for a Moulin Rouge party (November)

Exhibit B:  Dressed up as my mom's favorite things for her surprise birthday party (March)

Exhibit C:  Dressed up for my dad's birthday dinner (September)

Exhibit D:  Even Christmas is an excuse to dress up (December)

As you can see, Special K and the men in my family are GREAT sports!  They have come to learn that "no" is an unacceptable answer.

I am going to keep L's costume a secret until Halloween!  It is so preshrunken...However, my mom swears she will be turning on me in her teenage years.  L will accuse me of giving her a complex because of her first ever Halloween costume.  Stay tuned!

I have gathered a list of my top 10 favorite baby Halloween costumes!  I tried to find the most unique ones that I had not seen before.  No pumpkins, ghosts, or witches in this bunch.  Some are weird, some are funny, and some are too cute for words.  Enjoy!

#10 Garden Gnome  - If I had not already ordered L's costume, she would definitely be a garden gnome.  There is always next Halloween though (or Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc...).  I love this little girl!

#9  Peanut - Originally I thought this was precious, but on second look, well, never mind...I will be mature about this one ;) 

#8  Baby Chicken and Big Chicken - the big chicken might be her Easter outfit...too cute!

#7  Elephant - For all you Republicans out there...

#6  Caterpillar - This one made me laugh

#5 Snail - As did this one...

#4 Octopus - Is this not the most random thing you have ever seen?  I can't decide if I like it or not.  Could be a hit at your neighborhood carnival!

#3 Ram - I am 99% sure this is a joke because it is not for sale anywhere...strange, very, very strange!

#2 Flamingo - Um, HA-styrical, but not sure I am willing to pay $120 for it.

#1 Elvis - If L was a boy, there would be no question what she would be...This Elvis costume is the by far my favorite...please someone get it and send me a picture of your little tyke!  Also, let me know where the baby's arms go???

What is your little one dressing up as?  Did I miss any funny/unique ones?

Please send in your Halloween pictures.  I just may have a contest with a prize :)

Pint-Sized Giveaway

I have been waiting to announce this giveaway for a few weeks now!  Between facebook, blogs, and other social media, I have reconnected with so many old friends.  It has been so fun!  One friend, in particular, Lauren, contacted me to do a giveaway for Keeping it Simple.  I had no idea she had started a children's clothing line, Pint-Sized Clothing and Design.  As described on Facebook, "Pint-Sized is an online boutique offering items at affordable prices.  Everything is made by hand, just for you!"

I ordered L an owl onesie (applique pictured below) and was beyond excited when it came in the mail last week!  Not only was it adorable, but it was also great quality.  The only bad news is I intentionally ordered it a little big, so I have to wait for L to grow into it.  I guess I can contain myself for a few more weeks!!!  I will definitely share the pics with her wearing it when I have them.

Take a look at Lauren's fabulous designs below.  Her dresses are super cute!  I love the dress with ties on the shoulders because you can adjust the ties as your little one grows!





Here are a few of her MANY appliques for onesies including L's owl!

Are you dying to have your one-of-a-kind Pint-Sized outfit yet!?!?

Her dresses run from $38-$50 depending on the size and monogram, and her onesies run from $15-$22.  Her turn around time is around 1-3 weeks.

Today she is giving exclusively to Keeping it Simple a personalized onesie (or $22 credit toward an outfit).  We must earn Pint-Sized 50 likes to qualify for the giveaway.  If we reach the goal, I will announce the winner next Monday.

To enter...

• like Keeping it Simple on facebook, 
• like Pint Sized clothing on facebook, and
• leave a comment on this blog post. 

Good Luck!

Happy Birthday to...ARE YOU JOKING?

I recently went to a baby boutique because I had credit to spend.  I was on the hunt for a 1st birthday outfit for L.  I knew it is a couple months away, but I thought I would get her something super cute with the credit.  I found one of those HUMONGO pettiskirts and a cute top with a cupcake on it to match...I fell in love with it and had to have it.  Well, until I saw the price tag..It was pretty similar to the one below.  How much would you think this outfit costs?

La Bella Flora

I am walking through the store with the outfit in hand picturing L running around it while we sing Happy Birthday to her....Then, I see the price tag...$75...Wrong!  $125...Wrong!  $175...DING, DING, DING!  We have a winner!  It seriously made my jaw drop in the middle of the store.  I am sure the sales lady saw me since I was the only one in there at the time.  I have trouble spending that much money on a pair of jeans I will wear every day for two years.  I am still in shock over it.  Even with store credit, I just could not justify it.  I have been searching for a replica of it for less.  Any ideas?

I found one almost exactly like it at Zulily, but it was sold out!  What is Zulily, you may be asking?  If you are a expecting or new mom, you MUST know about Zulily. 

It is similar to Gilt that I posted about a few weeks ago, but it is ALL about babies, kids, and maternity products.  They post weekly deals from various companies.  Subscribe immediately for some super cute things with fantastic prices.  Here is the Bella Daniella skirt ($24.99) and top ($24.99) I found for a much better deal than the whopping $175.  I am sick I missed it!

Let me know if you find anything similar for a good price or any other preshrunken birthday outfits for that matter.

Preshrunken

Don't you just love the iphone autocorrect website.  You know when your iphone autocorrects a word that you did not intend to use?    Most of the time it is pretty harmless and doesn't make much sense, but they can get you into real trouble.  Here is an example...

In honor of a family wedding coming up this weekend, I will explain a little inside joke that was derived from such an autocorrect incident.  It is not on the dirty humor train the iphone sometimes is on, so don't get your hopes up.

My college-aged sister-in-law texted my future sister-in-law that this girl was "precious," but instead texted "preshrunken."  They all assumed "preshrunken" was a cool, new college word that they must not know about.  There were many guesses on what this new term might mean.  Everyone had a good laugh when they learned it was just a mistake.  Now, preshrunken is in our family vocabulary.

So, L will be a flower girl in the previously mentioned family wedding!  She is 9.5 months now and the other flower girl is 8 weeks.  Their dad's will be carrying them down the aisle...it will be so PRESHRUNKEN!!!  I will definitely get a  picture to share.

When we were trying to find flower girl dresses, we ran into some problems.  They are all so mini-bridesmaidsy (just made that word up, but you know what I mean) and cost just as much as a bridesmaids dress.  I called in the expert...Alex, from Things That Sparkle, keeps a fantastic blog featuring interiors, fashion, and a little bit of food.

She has a weekly series about planning her upcoming wedding called, Wedding Wednesdays.  She is guest posting here for today's Wedding Wednesdays about flower girl dresses.  See her adorable picks below at a wide variety of costs...

American Apparel $48 

Annie Girl Dress Up $150-170

Nordstrom $150

J Crew $168

Thank you Alex for these preshrunken dresses!  I love them! Let me know which one you choose for your wedding!

Unfortunately, we did not have Alex's picks before we picked the dress.  The Bride decided to keep it clean and simple with a white, smocked dress like the one below...

Etsy $56