Favorite Books: 2 years old

I did a 19 month list of A's favorite books, so I thought it was time to do another one. I think it will be fun to see which books E is into at these ages compared to A. They are already two completely different little girls, and E is only 4 months old.

On to the book list. A has a lot of books, as previously stated. She seems to enjoy all of them, but different months I can tell she enjoys some more than others. Lately, here is what she has been reaching for:

1. Peek-A-Who by Nina Laden 
2. Georgie Porgie
3. The Tooth Book by Theo Lesieg, Dr. Seuss, and Joe Mathieu
4. The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister
5. Colors by Justine Smith, Jill Ackerman, and Fiona Land

All links to the books on Amazon. I could not find Georgie Porgie, but it is a book from England and gifted from a friend.

What are your children reading these days?

Uses for Coconut Oil for a Mommy

Since becoming a Mom and wanting to be as natural as possible, coconut oil has been something I have learned about. It is definitely something I have enjoyed using. I have learned its benefits, and I have been able to include it in our lifestyle for many different things. I thought I would share some of our favorite uses for it outside of cooking with it. I am not going to discuss its benefits and such, but if it is recommended I definitely will. But there are so many different articles about it and which kind is best for which use. All located through a google search.

Here are the uses we have used and gotten lots of benefits from:
1. Baby Acne - apply a thin layer onto areas affected with baby acne twice a day until it is gone.
2. Cradle Cap - just rub a teaspoon into scalp daily. Helps moisturize on dry, itchy skin.
3. Diaper Rash Cream - very comforting on a rashy bum with no harsh chemicals. Can also be used as a preventive. Also safe for cloth diapers.
4. Ear Infection - place a few drops inside the ear twice daily for relief of pain. Also fights the infection itself.
5. Teething Pain Reliver - rub directly onto gums of teething babies to ease the pain.6. Bug Bites and Stings - apply directly to a bug bite or sting. It will stop the itching and burning and help the healing process.

Where is everyone?

Where is everyone? I mean that.

I have spent the last few weeks going through my reading list, and I can't believe who has announced the end of their time blogging and who hasn't blogged in months or even years.

I have met so many amazing people through blogging, and it is just so hard to believe that some of my favorite blogs are gone. Well, not gone... but not up to date.

So this post is to see where everyone is.

If you read my blog and you also blog regularly, please leave your URL so I can check your blog out, too!!

What's in my diaper bag: A day out in Venice and the beach

I thought I would share what I pack on a day out with the girls. This isn't just an "every day run errands" bag. This is a "going out on the town and have no idea when we will be back" bag.

On this day, we spent seven hours in Venice and at the beach.

This is stuff that always stays in my bag.

1. Extra diapers. I always bring 5-6 per child for emergencies. Most of the time we only use 3 per child.

2. Extra nursing pads for Mommy.

3. Extra outfits for each girl. Again, for accidents.

4. Burp cloth bib, and small receiving blanket for E. The receiving blanket is used when we hold her to protect our clothes/shoulders from getting drenched in drool.

This stuff is for the beach.

1. A bathing suit per child.

2. A swim diaper per child.

3. A sun hat per child.

Not pictured: sunglasses.

This is another one where most of this is with me.

In the bag pictured up top, we keep:

1. Aquaphor

2. Diaper rash cream

3. Neosporin

4. Band-aids

5. Hydroskin

6. Saline for their noses

7. Benadryl for bug bites

8. Nail Clippers

9. Epi-pen for A

10. Boogie sucker

Next, in other small handy compartments, we keep:

1. Tissues

2. Sunscreen

3. Hand sanitizer

4. Nipple cream

5. Chapstick

6. Pen and paper

7. Gum - I like to have a couple options.

8. Bug repellent stickers

9. Muslin blanket

Next, also for the beach:

1. Two beach towels

2. Mommy and Daddy's bathing suit

3. Lotion for Mommy

And here it is stuffed!

After zipped up and ready to go.

What do you pack in your bag for a day out on the town and/or beach?

Must-Do: Summer List

Of course I have been thinking about what I would like to do with A for the summer. Since she is only two, it is really basic. I know we are already in summer and I am a bit behind on this, but it has just started warming up here... so I have an excuse, right? Right.

Waterparks, beaches, swim lessons, slip n slide, outside fun....

While searching on Pinterest, I found this.

It is such a fun post for young children. She uses the alphabet to incorporate their summer projects. I definitely want to try it next year. I will probably make it a matching game where I use index cards to put the activity on it, then have A match it with its letter. The best part about it is later on using the papers for a memory book! Definitely on my must-do list for next year.

But for our bucket list for this year, it's simple.
Water of all sorts.
Spain.
Have fun.

Review: Piggy Paint

I mentioned before that I was going to write a short review about my opinions on Piggy Paint. It is a popular accessory for the parent who tries to be as green as possible. I am one of those parents. When I came across Piggy Paint, I had to have some for my girls. When I purchased my set, I actually only had A and she was only 9 months old. I immediately gave it try on myself.

Here is my first impression...
It's simple. I wasn't impressed. In fact, I wondered what all the hype was about. It chips, it fades. Two things I do not like in a nail polish. But then I had to take a step back and think about why I actually purchased it. I didn't purchase it necessarily for me (even though I was hoping to replace my nail polish collection with Piggy Paint). I simply purchased it as a safe polish for A.

Over time, I tried different times to put the polish on A. She never cooperated. Now that she is older, she understands a bit more. The most recent rainy day, she requested that we paint our toes. I gladly accepted and off we went to paint our toes. We each picked our colors and sat on a towel and off we went in our little princess land of painting toes. A picked a soft pink color, and I thought it was perfect. I don't care for her to have bold and too bright of colors on her at this age. She asked that I paint her toes first, so I did. I did the first coat. For her's I did no base coat or even a top coat. I simply painted her toes with the Piggy Paint. I let the first coat dry. While it was drying, I painted mine. I picked a light purple color. I; however, did do a base coat and a top coat. I also applied two coats on mine. Once I did my base coat and first coat, I did A's second coat. I made sure she sat and let them dry. I touched to make sure they were dry and everything. Off she went to play and be a kid.

That night, her toes had faded and chipped. It actually stayed more on her skin, then it did her nails. Which is opposite for most other nail polishes. Was it just because she is in fact a kid? And that will happen since it is the type of polish it is? What am I doing wrong?

For mine, it was the same thing that happened the first time with added issues. This time a white film built over my nails. I used the piggy paint base coat and top coat, so I don't fill like I could blame it on the type of base coat and/or top coat I used. There has to be something I am missing because I seriously think this product can be great. It has to be since everyone raves over it. I have seen it on so many lists of top summer must-have's and I see so many people wanting to purchase it for their children. Others recommend it and it is an ongoing hyped up product.

I would love to know where I am going wrong. What am I doing? Why isn't it working out so well for myself?

I will continue to use it and try different approaches because 1 - I want to love it and 2 - it is a great alternative for the girls.

Have you ever tried Piggy Paint? If so, am I doing something wrong/different? What is your opinion on it?

What I Love About Italy: 1 - Fresh Produce Markets

I get a lot of questions about the culture and lifestyle of Europeans, so I thought I would share with you my favorite things about Italy. As we travel, I will share my favorite things of wherever we travel too as well. I wish I would have done this in England because I have so many people ask me for recommendations on things to do and places to eat. Back to Italy, I will start out with the fresh produce markets.

Most towns have them twice a week, once during the week and once on the weekend. On Friday, it was a family day for the base since school just let out. Mr. Man and I took the girls down to Venice for the day. The nice thing about the larger towns is that they will have their markets open 6 days a week. Venice is one. It was extremely hot. We decided our first stop would be to the market for some fresh fruit to last us through the day. They had everything imaginable, and it is seriously so delicious.