White Noise

Our families have a secret to our children's good sleep habits- The Original Sleep Sound Generator made for Hammacher Schlemmer.  Our older sister found this gem years ago and her 14 year old still uses his every night.  We both have younger children and these white noise machines are essential.  One of us even owns 5 of them! 

This sleep sound generator drowns out the dog barking, the door bell ringing, the phone and the other loud children in our homes!  The noise is created by moving air through the holes instead of based off a sound card.  That is the key to the very relaxing, soothing and simple white noise.  There are 2 volume settings, which is really helpful when you need to drown out extra noise.  

I just ordered a new one in preparation for my new baby and noticed that it is made in the USA.  Now I love these machines even more!  

We have had our machines for years and they still run as though they are new...worth every penny.  We both always travel with them and boy do they make sleeping in hotels super easy!  They are perfect for any child or adult who wants a peaceful sleep. To purchase The Original Sleep Sound Generator click here.

Sweet Dreams

Stay-On Mittens: Review

Winter is back once AGAIN and it's time to get everyone's cold winter gear organized.  One piece of outdoor clothing that always seems to cause a little more angst for us than others are the mittens/gloves.  I can't tell you how many times I have come home from the store with what I think will be the perfect pair for my kids but once we get them on they don't fit right, they aren't warm enough, I can't keep them on my little one's hands or they end up being made out of cheap material that quickly tears... 

When I found out about a company called Cozy Tots that makes what they call the "Stay-On Mittens,"  I was very excited to give them a try!  Cozy Tots generously sent us a pair of  their Toddler Mittens to try with my one year old.

First of all, before we even put the mittens on, we fell in love with this company.  Cozy Tots was started by a Mom in Massachusetts who saw a need for warm mittens that would stay on her children's hands (read her story here).  Not only are the products made from fleece Made in Massachusetts, but (this is the best part) Cozy Tots has paired with MoJo Manufacturing in Massachusetts, a company that trains and employs single Moms in the USA to manufacture products giving these women benefits and child care!  Their slogan is "Helping The American Family Get Their MoJo back."  We LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this idea!!!

So, I was already rooting for these mittens and as soon as I actually tried the mittens on my 1 year old, I fell in love with them again!

First great thing about these mittens: they are made from super-soft, stretchy microfleece.  It's not the thin, cheap kind you can sometimes find on kid's clothing, but rather the thick, plush, high-quality kind.

Next great thing: the stay-on mittens cleverly have elastic at the wrist and then more elastic at the end of a longer sleeve.  Believe me they live up to their name...they stay on!

The design was perfect...easy to put on a child's hand because they are pliable and soft but once on they stay put.  The other thing I really appreciated was that the thumb portion of the mitten was appropriately sized for the child.  The pre-school size has a little bigger thumb area and a velcro finger pocket so fingers can come out to eat snacks, etc.  The toddler size has a small thumb pocket perfectly sized for a one year old's tiny hands (see above picture).  And from looking at the website, the infant size are very smartly thumbless.  Seriously, who wants to be trying to get an infants thumb into a mitten.  Bottom line is Cozy Tots has thought of everything in terms of making these mittens functional and easy to use, but oh so cute!

Last but not least because this could be the best part of the whole design, the mittens are ingeniously made with an extra layer of fleece sewn into the fingertips to keep little fingers extra warm.  The entire part of the mitten above the decorative stitching you see in my pictures is double layered.  What a fabulous idea!  On our walk, not only did the stay-on mittens keep my little one's fingers toasty warm but my heavily teething baby also enjoyed biting on the extra layer of fleece too.

The mittens come in cute colors with various contrasting colored stitching, which adds some extra detail.

We give Cozy Tot's Stay-On Mittens two (very warm) thumbs up!  We will most definitely be buying some extra pairs (because some always get lost as winter carries on) and look forward to trying their hats (they are also double layered with fleece).  We think they would make great gifts too.

Thanks Cozy Tots for sharing your fabulous Made in the USA product with us!

32 Degrees Hats

It is downright blustery in the Midwest today.  A wet, windy chill is in the air reminding us that winter is just around the corner...ugh!  That means getting out all the full-blown winter garb...hats, boots, gloves, etc.  All these scattered pieces of clothing will soon take over front and back hallways everywhere. 

Well, here's a little good news to balance the cold weather...we found the cutest hats EVER made by a company called 32 Degrees.   They are soft, cozy and adorable!  The material is high-quality and some of them (including the one I have for my infant daughter) are adjustable in the back.  We love that it is a company started by a mom in her kitchen in Massachusetts and that she continues to be committed to manufacturing in America!  They make hats for kids but also a OSFM (one size fits most) size so adults can join in the fun too. 

Here is the one we bought but in aqua:

Here are some others we love:

You can shop their website here or look for a retailer here

Stay warm out there!!

Little Giraffe

The softer the better when it comes to babies!  With my first child I received as a gift the most deliciously soft blanket I had ever come across.  It was made by Little Giraffe.  It was a simple blanket made with the plushest chenille and a satin boarder.   I fell in love with the blanket and so did my son.  So when I had my daughter, she had to have one as well.  And, I just finished ordering a blanket for baby #3.  Can you tell I'm a fan? 

I'm even more of a fan now that I recently found out these awesome blankets are made in the USA!

They come in multiple colors, sizes and patterns, and they are all super soft and luxurious...click here to shop.

When I first received a Little Giraffe blanket, I thought wouldn't it be awesome to have one of these blankets for adults?  Little did I know, they make those too!  Maybe a holiday gift this year pour moi!