Out Of The Box Gift Ideas

I’ve been working on my baby registry for the past couple of months and while I’ve been scouring the World Wide Web I’ve come across some pretty cool ideas for gifts. So I thought I would share what I’ve found thus far and also see if any of you have more ideas!

For Baby/Child:

1. Citrus Lane

This is a subscription-based service that sends a box of 4-5 mommy-approved products right to your house! All the products are reviewed and recommended by the company and real parents (no product placement here, folks), so you know you’re getting trustworthy, quality products. It seems super-simple. You register for what you want (monthly, 3-month, 6-month or annual subscription), input the age of the child so they know what age-appropriate items to include and then they deliver the box for FREE each month (or however you specified)! How cool is that? All the products on their website look awesome and useful. You can subscribe yourself or you can send this to someone as a gift. The boxes are for ages newborn – 3 years.

2. Cooper and Kid

This one’s for the father’s out there (Father’s Day is fast-approaching). Very similar to Citrus Lane, this is a mail-based service that sends a kit for dad and child to play and interact with. They are a newer company, so they are not subscription-based yet, but that’s their goal – to send different kits each month on a specific subject. Their current kit is called “How Things Fly” and includes items such as a book, a catapult, an activity book and lots more that relate to that theme. The shipping box even turns into a toy – how awesome is that? This is for kids that are a little older – 5 years and up, but I love the idea that it is something for daddy to do with the kids. It’s a little more expensive – $65 for one kit, but they say they have over $100 worth of products in it – so that seems like a steal for days filled with education and entertainment for father and child.

3. World Wildlife Fund – Animal Adoption

I saw this idea on Babylist (where we have our registry) and thought it was such a neat idea for the animal-lovers out there. While teddy bears are a staple of every newborn’s life, wouldn’t it be even cooler to actually adopt a bear for them? For $50, you can gift the adoption of a panda bear, tiger, elephant (or pretty much any other species) for the little one. They’ll receive a plush stuffed animal of that species, an adoption certificate and info card, a picture of the animal and a gift bag. So instead of just getting the plush teddy bear for $20, make a difference and adopt an actual bear! Of course, newborn’s don’t understand what these are, but I think it would be a great gift idea for a toddler or for those that want to do a little extra good in the world.

4. Photography Session

I haven’t seen this anywhere as a gift idea, but I thought it could be a great group gift. We all want photos of our little ones when they’re born (and each day and month after), so why not gift someone a photography session with a local professional photographer? No one can say “no” to that, plus it’s something they’ll be able to keep forever (the prints, not the photographer). I haven’t looked into photographers yet, but I’m sure most would be willing to supply a certificate for a session or two to gift.

For Mom:

Let’s not forget the momma in this pregnancy picture. She’s only been carrying around a little human for the past 9 months or so. The following are a couple of ideas that I know I would love to get as an expecting/new mother.

1. Spa Day

A spa day before and/or after the birth of little baby would be awesome. Whether it’s a prenatal massage and a manicure or a pedicure and a facial, every momma wants to look, and more importantly, feel her best in this time of immense bodily change. A little pampering can go a long way.

2. Personalized Jewelry

This one is hard to get before baby is born (if you don’t know their name for personalization), but I love the simple necklaces and bracelets out there such as this necklace from Etsy or this bracelet from Restoration Hardware. I also like this necklace from Pottery Barn Kids that lets you include their birthstone.

There’s also a lot of sanity-saving after-birth gifts for mom such as frozen meals and house cleaning services, but those aren’t as exciting to receive as the above.

What are some creative gift ideas you’ve seen or received? For all the mom’s out there, what’s been your favorite gift to receive (for you or baby)?

Baby Holl: 29 Weeks

29 Weeks

It’s true! The belly button I used to know is no longer. It’s not sticking out to the point that you can see through clothes yet, but I can’t deny anymore that it’s not sticking out. I’ve heard some funny things about how to keep it contained – such as putting band aids over it. I think I’ll wait and see how this all goes before I buy a box of band-aids for my belly button.

It’s been another long week in the Holl household.

We had a promotion party Friday afternoon for a co-worker of Jed’s. We also FINALLY got out to the Des Moines Farmer’s Market Saturday morning and then had a retirement party for a drill troop from out at the base. It was an all-day event at our friends house in Nevada (who we gave the goats and chickens to last week). It was fun to check up on them and see how all the barnyard animals were doing. I think the funniest part of the day was the goats roaming around in the garage with all the dogs and kids. I guess they didn’t want to miss out on the party.

Sunday was a big day. Jed’s oldest sister graduated from Drake University with her Master’s in Education. She also had an interview on Monday at the school she’s been wanting to work at and she got the job – which is so awesome!! We’re very proud of her and all of her accomplishments. So we had a small graduation party for her Sunday afternoon/evening. I love baking so I volunteered to make the cakes. Her request was “Chocolatey Goodness.”

So here’s what I came up with:

Chocolate Cake with Strawberries

The above is a two-layer fudge/chocolate cake (with chocolate frosting) and fresh strawberries. And below is a two-layer milk chocolate cake (also with chocolate frosting) and wait for it . . . puppy chow crumbles! I think that counts as “chocolatey goodness!”

Chocolate Puppy Chow Cake

I will admit that I did not make these from scratch, although I would have if I had the time. I had some help from Duncan Hines, but I did come up with the puppy chow crumble by myself – which I thought was genius.

The only down-side to all the fun activities this weekend was the intense back pain from standing so long. I have now learned that I need to sit down more often and keep off the feet. Good thing Jed has been doing well with his homework from our prenatal classes and is a good sport about giving me massages.

On that note, we had our second prenatal class last night. We mostly covered early labor and things to consider in the birth and communication plans. All I know is that I am going to try to be as flexible as possible with our birth plan, especially considering this is our first child and I have no idea what I would like/not like. So keeping an open mind seems like the best route to take. We also went through breathing techniques and using a birthing ball to help with positions. I’ll be curious to see how the breathing thing goes since I have asthma and I can already tell my lungs need to do a little more work than usual with my shrinking ribcage. I’m sure it will all be fine.

This week they did start having the guys that volunteered for it wear the empathy suit – a 35 lb. suit that simulates pregnancy. At least they don’t have to go through this:

Don’t worry, Jed – it’s not in your future, although it would be very funny to watch.

Weekly update:

Currently: 29 weeks, 4 days

Countdown: 10 weeks, 3 days

Sesame’s Size: Size of a butternut squash and is 17 in. and 3.1 lbs.

Cravings: Everything! I have been soooo hungry lately. I feel like I can’t get full. So everything’s on the table – literally.

Weight Gain: About 20.5 lbs. so far.

Sleep: The weird dreams have come back. Funny enough, none of them have to do with children. They are just strange dreams. Some nights are good and other nights are uncomfortable. Nothing too bad yet, but may need to use some extra pillows soon.

Mood: Happy and anxious. I feel like time is flying by and I’m not where I wanted to be at this point in the pregnancy – mainly with the nursery. I’m sure that’s a common feeling among pregnant women.

Symptoms: Congestion (from allergies and pregnancy) as well as heartburn. I woke up the other night with the worst heartburn and I could not get comfortable. Luckily it’s only happened once while I’ve been sleeping, but I’m trying to be conscious of what I’m eating to see if there’s something specific – which I doubt. My back has also started to hurt this week – a LOT! It’s not an all-over pain, but I can tell there are knots in certain places and I need more pillows while sitting for support.

Looking Forward To: Getting our furniture. I called today and they said that the dressers are on their truck and headed this way, so we could have them as early as next week. Not so sure about the crib though, which is really the piece I wish I had now so I can figure out bedding. It’s not too important since we will have a cradle up in our room for the first few weeks, but it would be nice to have it all.

Clothes: I haven’t needed anything new yet, and hopefully it stays that way for a while. Still haven’t had the chance to test out the maternity suit, but I’m sure that day is fast-approaching. I have noticed that my shoes do seem to be a little tighter. I know that your feet can expand while pregnant and I’m sure being on my feet all weekend didn’t help.

Misc. News: We’re starting the pediatrician search and I am going to start calling and setting up interviews at a few places that have been recommended to us. It would be nice to get that done and confirmed.

That’s our update. Friday marks the big 3-0! I can’t believe we’re this far along and still have so much to do. But that’s how it always works out. And we’re enjoying the ride. Stay tuned to see what I’ve been working on for the nursery.

Baby Clothes

I love gift-giving and craft projects, although I’m not always so good at the latter. This past week I got the opportunity to combine these two loves for a friend of mine who is due in two weeks. This is their second son, so I wanted to give her something for the little man that would be unique. But I was trying to figure out what. And then I remembered a Pinterest project I did last fall for our niece for her 3rd birthday and BAM! Idea generated.

I’ve seen so many cute onesies on Etsy and told myself – hey, I could do that! So that’s what I did. I bought a pack of four white onesies and then started to think about what I wanted to screen print (or freezer-paper print) on them. Since I know she is having a little boy, a bow tie and necktie seemed very appropriate. My friend is an art director, so I thought the copyright design was cute and the “Spit Happens” was a fun play on words.

Screen Printed Baby Onesies

If you want to learn how to do this, I recommend you go to the original post that explains how to do this much better than I would be able to and their pictures of the process are much better than mine. Does anyone else notice that everyone on Pinterest is a professional photographer? Maybe it’s just me.

For the paint, I used Martha Stewart Acrylic Craft Paint that I picked up at our local Hobby Lobby.

This was such a fun and easy project and one that you can customize for the person, which is why I did it.

Talking about baby clothes, I also went to a children’s garage sale yesterday morning hoping to find more of the baby essentials at a much-discounted price. Instead, I found cute clothes. I have been trying to resist buying any clothes for little Sesame as I know we’ll probably get quite a few, but the temptation was too great and I caved. But they were super cheap ($5 for everything) and in good quality, which makes me feel like the best bargain shopper ever. Check out some of Sesame’s new clothes (along with new pacifiers and a clip).

New Clothes for Little Sesame

I think they are all so cute, but my favorite is the white tank top with pink hearts and little gray shorts. Should be perfect for the lovely, hot August weather we get here in Iowa. I think I’m going to have to keep an eye out for more garage sales with kids stuff as you can get some great stuff at fractions of the cost of retail. And since they grow so fast, it’s a smart way to shop.

Do you have any cute Pinterest projects for little ones? Next on my list is a couple of projects for wall art in the nursery, so stay tuned!

Baby Holl: 28 Weeks

28 Weeks

I know Mother’s Day was on Sunday, but since that’s when I wrote the board, I’m counting it! It’s amazing to think that we’ll have a little one crawling around next Mother’s Day.

We have been pretty busy this past week. On Saturday we took a little road trip up to Osage, Iowa for a swap meet. A friend of Jed’s invited us up and since we had never been to one we thought it would be fun to go on a little adventure. I had no idea what I was in for. I guess there was a little plan ahead of time to get some animals for a friend/co-worker of Jed’s that lives on a few acres outside of town. I didn’t realize that we were going to be the transporter’s of the animals. A swap meet is basically like a flea market where people can barter and buy used items. The big difference is that at a swap meet (at least this one), you could also buy animals and even cars.

From the swap meet we ended up getting two goats, four chickens and a rooster. We also got ten newly hatched chicks from Jed’s friend to take as well. So we literally had a traveling barnyard in our truck on Saturday!

Goat Pen

After getting all the animals packed up in the truck, we headed to Jed’s co-workers house where we met up with some friends to start constructing a pen for the goats. Luckily, their friend already had a chicken coop built on the property. I must admit, I was very impressed with how well they put up the pen. They even added a shelter/play pen out of pallets for the goats. The fencing will eventually need to be replaced with something the goats won’t chew through, but it’s good for now since they’re small. I was also surprised at how tame they were. I let them out to graze and get some water (while the guys were building the pen) and they just followed me around. I already felt like a little momma!

I was pretty tired the rest of the day since we had to get up early to get to Osage for the swap meet. The rest of the weekend we spent cleaning the yard, which is starting to actually look good thanks to Jed. He also took me out for my first Mother’s Day brunch on Sunday.

Yesterday was our first of five prenatal classes at the hospital. Each class is two hours long and will help prepare us for little Sesame’s arrival. I’m so glad we signed up for these as I already learned things I didn’t know – like that you’re not supposed to massage calf muscles in case of blood clots. I think my favorite part though was that Jed’s homework is giving me daily massages. I can deal with that So now we have to start thinking about our birth plan and writing it out for when that special time comes. We’re also starting to look for pediatricians as we’ll need to visit the offices and conduct interviews to find a good doctor for little miss.  If you live in the Des Moines area and have recommendations, I am all ears! I did find this article on finding the right pediatrician that I will be referring to during this process.

Weekly update:

Currently: 28 weeks, 4 days

Countdown: 11 weeks, 3 days

Sesame’s Size: She is the size of a small cabbage and is supposedly 17 in. and 2.9 lbs. It’s hard to believe she’s that long in my tummy. But I know she’s all curled up.

Cravings: Everything that’s bad. Marshmallows is a new one. Still have the usual ice cream cravings and fruit is still on the list as well.

Weight Gain: 19 lbs. so far.

Sleep: It’s starting to get a little uncomfortable to sleep at night – mostly because some of my congestion has come back. Turning over is a little more work as well.

Mood: Happy, excited, but a little impatient. I really wish we had our furniture because I want to continue working on the nursery, but finding it hard to do without the furniture. I’m hoping the crib comes in by the end of the month. The dressers should come in early June, but I know I’m not going to want to be decorating and moving things come late June/early July.

Symptoms: I had some pretty bad heartburn on Saturday afternoon, but haven’t had it since. As I mentioned above, my congestion is back. The changing season and my being allergic to almost everything probably isn’t helping. My bladder also feels like it shrunk about 90% over the last week. It seems like every time I get up I need to go! So I guess I need to start being more conscious of where bathrooms are located as we go out.

Looking Forward To: Continuing our prenatal classes and summer weather!!! I think summer has finally arrived (judging by the 90 degree weather outside today).

Clothes: I’m glad I picked up those shorts the other week. Definitely coming in handy. I haven’t gotten anything else and hope I don’t need to get too much more before she’s born. I’m waiting to get nursing tanks and such until I’m closer to delivery since I’ve heard you grow a little more on top in that last month. Not looking forward to that.

Misc. News: We had our doctor’s appointment today and they told us that now’s the time to start counting the kicks. Each day I will take an hour (probably after a meal) and count how many movements she has. After ten kicks I can stop counting. It’s just to make sure there is daily activity in that oven. It shouldn’t be a problem for us since she is a very active little girl. Her movement is now more consistent throughout the day, which is kind of fun. Some of her kicks are getting strong. Nothing that hurts yet, but I could see how in a month or two they could, especially when you’re not expecting it.

So that’s our week 28 update. I’d love to hear if you have any advice on finding a pediatrician. Any specific questions I should ask?

Book Review: 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea

This was a book that’s been on our shelf for quite some time. I bought it a few years ago as I want to have our own library one day and I thought it would be a great book to have in our collection.

20,000 Leagues Under The Sea by Jules Verne

Written by Jules Verne, 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea is a science fiction novel that takes you on an underwater adventure aboard the Nautilus with Captain Nemo and his companions –  Pierre Arronax, a French marine biologist, his assistant Conseil and a Canadian harpooner named Ned Land. Captain Nemo’s companions were actually captured by the vessel after trying to bring it down in the open seas thinking it was a giant sea monster.

Adventures and secrets abound onboard the Nautilus as they travel 20,000 leagues around the globe visiting places yet discovered.

Throughout the book, Jules Verne does an excellent job of character development with Captain Nemo. He gives the reader just enough information and insight to try to figure out why Nemo has built this secret submersible and forsaken land without truly revealing Nemo’s actual reason.

The one thing that I didn’t enjoy so much was all of the actual scientific names and references Pierre Arronax made note of throughout the book. I thought it was a little overdone in some places and unnecessary in others. But I do appreciate the amount of detail and knowledge Jules Verne put into this book, especially considering the time period that he wrote it in and the technology he describes, which was not common by any means. It was very imaginative, which was probably why I liked the book so much overall.

In conclusion, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone that likes science fiction. It was as easy read (except for some of those scientific names) and was entertaining. There were not any real slow or boring parts, which is what I look for in a good book.

Book Details:
Author: Jules Verne
Date Published: 1870
Genre: Science fiction
Total Pages: 343
Favorite Line: ”We may brave human laws, but we cannot resist natural ones.”

Have you read this book? What did you think? I am now a little curious to watch the movies that were based on this book to see how it compares. There have only been a handful of movies, in my opinion, that have been just as good as the book. So we’ll see how this one stacks up.