Thursday, March 10, 2011

Things I like Thursday

Here's a list of things I am really enjoying this week. Or excited about, in the case of one of these things. Most of these are kids things but a couple are momma things. I will try to do this every Thursday, but I can't guarantee that I'll always be able to come up with this many things!

Standard bloggy disclaimers apply: I am not working for or being compensated by any of the following companies (although I wouldn't tell 'em no if they offered, haha!) All of these "reviews" are done because I feel like it, and I have/will be using my own money to buy these things. Anyway.

1. Safety First Air Protect Car Seat
Brian and I saw this carseat on display at Target back when Gage was a tiny guy riding around in the bucket style car seat. We had a Graco SnugRide32 because we just sort of liked it. We were so freaked out about registering for our impending baby, we didn't do much research. So when it came time to shop for a convertible car seat, we did a lot more research, not being freaked out anymore.

Now, like anything else, you can find negative info out there on the Doral group, who owns Safety First. But their Air Protect system seemed really advanced to me! It is meant to reduce the ride down time in an accident, basically meaning it slows down the time between hurdling ahead at 45 mph and coming to a complete stop. The more I read about it, the more I liked it. So before we moved back to CO from NM, we picked up the Air Protect for Gage. After taxes and all, I believe it was just shy of $200, making it kind of a mid-range car seat.

It is also super easy to install and remove. It has a push button LATCH release, and if you have experience trying to dig a little clip into your seat cushions trying to fasten or unfasten onto the LATCH anchor points, you know that's an awesome feature. It seems pretty comfy for Gage, and we've had it rear facing up until a couple days ago, when he finally was big enough to turn around. Having him forward facing rocks for all of us. I'm back in love with it right now since we just turned it around. I also really like that its top tether strap is plenty long, as the Subie's top tether anchor points are actually at the far back of the hatch cargo area. Yes, this is a pain in the rear. Thanks, Subaru.

Not to say that it's the PERFECT car seat, I do need to buy/make some covers for the straps because they bite into Gage's neck a bit when they are secured. Also, the fabric has balled just a bit on the seat cushion so it isn't quite as beautiful as it was. But the positives far outweigh the negatives. When we purchase a second car seat for the Max, it'll very likely be another Air Protect.

2. Target brand disposable diapers
I won't have nearly as much to say about these as I did the car seat, because well, diapers. They aren't a safety thing, they either absorb pee and hold in poo or they don't. Oh, y'all. Is there anything I don't have much to say about?!

So you know we started on cloth diapers, and things were awesome, then we moved. We went back with disposables during the move for obvious convenience reasons. And we've been using them at night too, because Gage still does too much milk drinking at night to be contained by the cloth diaper. But the past couple weeks, I've been laundry lazy so I haven't had enough clean cloth. We've been depending on disposables more than I want, so when we went to Target recently for our usual Pampers, I said, "hey, let's try Up and Up, the Target brand!" We have had good luck with most everything Up and Up we tried, but I was nervous about diapers. We bought a small pack.

To start with, their green and blue dot pattern is WAY cuter than Sesame Street themed Pampers. Seriously cute. And they don't leak. We tried Huggies once and Luvs once, and man, did we have leaks. So Target disposables for us it'll be, when we aren't using cloth. See, lots to say about anything. 

3. Camelbak Kid's water bottle
If you aren't familiar with Camelbak, they started out making backpacks with a removable bladder, hose, and bite piece, so that you could drink water hands-free while participating in activites of all kinds. I have a Camelbak that I bought many years ago for bike riding and it ROCKS. Now that I'm starting to run, I may start using it again. Anyway, sometime in the last few years (I have no idea when) Camelbak put their bite guard technology into water bottles. Brian and I loved them for the gym. You bite down on the bite guard and suck, and you get your water. Great for running on elliptical, treadmill or outside because you don't have to stop and unscrew a cap.

When Gage started drinking water, we struggled to find an actual sippy cup he could use. He could suck, but he couldn't get the fact that he had to tip back traditional sippy cups. We wondered if he could drink from a Camelbak kids water bottle, but at $15 per, it was a more expensive gamble than we wanted to take. He couldn't drink out of the kid's Nalgene bottle we got him, but at least he can feel like a Colorado native, having his own Nalgene bottle and all. Our Camelbak water bottles were in storage, so of course we couldn't have him try ours.

One day Alecia and I were hanging out, and Gage snatched away her bright orange Camelbak. We were laughing about how cute it was, wondering if he could actually get water out of it, etc... when we noticed he had water running down his chin. So, yeah. He could definitely get water out of it! Now he's the proud owner of a green bottle with dinos on it and an orange one with skateboarding pirates on it. He loves them and they don't spill. These water bottles state that they're meant for kids 2 and up. I'm not sure why as there are no small pieces, but we always supervise Gage while he eats and drinks anyway.

4. Windows 7
Here's where I get off baby stuff for a moment simply because I'm  easily distracted. We bought new laptops about 3 years ago, at the time we did our research and came up with two really awesome HPs that got great reviews, had lots of space for expanding memory, etc. They ran the Dreaded Vista. We'd heard lots of negative stuff about Vista, but we liked it ok from playing with the computers in store. So, Vista, no big. Anyway. We have gotten tons of use out of our laptops and generally, we love them. Hewlett Packard makes a good laptop. But as Vista ages, and you pack more stuff onto the computer, it gets glitchier and glitchier until I want to throw my computer straight out the window.

But everything else is so good with my computer and me, so I don't want to replace it. And while three years is aging along in computer years, it has got tons of life left in it. The solution? Windows 7. We're upgrading both computers this weekend and I CANNOT wait!! I love so many of the Windows 7 features and it is so much less bloated than Vista! Now I just need to start backing everything up to our Western Digital book hard drive. Yay! I'll tell you next week how much I love Windows 7. I think we're also going to try adding memory as well, just maxing them out on RAM while we are working on them. Yes, I have morphed into a computer dork. No, I don't know when it happened, but sometime in the last few years. No, I don't play Dungeons and Dragons. But if you do, I bet it makes your life enriched and magical. (Get it? Magical?)

5. Lovey Duds Wrap (Etsy version of Moby wrap)
I really wanted to get Gage a new jogging stroller for Christmas. That's right, he would have loved it. It wouldn't have been sort of for me in the slightest! His old jogging stroller was a Craigslist buy and... it is a little sad. Faded, noisy, etc. But then we decided to move into a second floor walk up and I wondered how I would wrangle Gage, Chevy, and a jogging stroller down the stairs, every time Chevy needed a walk. Which is multiple times a day.

So instead, we bought Gage a fixed side crib for Christmas (his old crib was a dropside) and put my stroller dreams on hold. Instead, I spent $50 on the handmade equivalent of a Moby wrap from Lovey Duds, an Etsy seller. Along with supporting a WAHM rather than a company, I got a beautiful handmade wrap. So when Chevy needs a walk, I strap on my shoes, wrap up, put Gage in, leash up Chevy, and off we go. The wrap is comfy and soft, distributes Gage's weight across my shoulders and back, and he loves to be in it. I also use it when I bake, and plan to use it to vacuum as well, so I can keep Gage off the floor and safe while I vacuum. It is an awesome thing to have and very versatile! 

6. Couch to 5k for Android
I have been trying to break into running since we lived in Albuquerque. At that time, we were trying to get up before Brian went to work and walk/run. It didn't work. I recently learned of a program called Couch to 5k, meant to get even the most out of shape beginners off the couch and to a 5k in just 9 weeks. I thought it seemed cool, but had no idea of how to incorporate it into my days. Until I found C25kPro in the app market. For only $1.99, it will tell you when to walk, when to run, post your training to Facebook if you want, AND, my favorite feature, incorporate your own music. Not what someone else thinks is motivational but what YOU think is motivational. Very cool! Hopefully in 10 weeks or so I'll be telling you how I completed the program. I started yesterday but the wind in Gage's face forced me to cut it short.

I guess that's all for this week. I loathe ending on six things, but I've got nothin' else! Enjoy your Thursday!

4 comments:

  1. We got the laptops 2 years ago.

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  2. Was it two? I will take your word on that but it sticks in my head it was three. Did we get them right before we found out I was pregnant? Thanks for clarifying. :)

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  3. Awww.... you two are cute with your clarification of each other!

    This was a fun post. I like seeing what makes your day!

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  4. Thanks, Cara! We compliment each other nicely. Glad you liked the post!

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