So we have done a little travel in the US - with a baby and now a toddler. As it turns out traveling with a baby is easier, yes easier. One or two toys, stroller, a port-a-cot, clothes and bottles and you're away. Now it seems it's more toys, more food, more clothes and just more everything really and a little someone who wont stay where you leave them.
We are traveling by car down south later this month so I thought whilst I pack I might as well share some of the gadgets we have to make our life a little simpler.
The first is the 'bundle me' - a generic version of a stroller foot muff to keep the little ones warm. You can (usually) buy a stroller specific version, though it is probably cheaper to purchase one like the JJ Cole Bundle Me. Available from Diapers.com, Giggle, Target, Babies R Us and a number of other retailers. You can buy them in a variety of sizes and weights from wind proof to arctic. There's an infant sized one that fits in a capsule car seat and the toddler version that will fit into your stroller.
Next we have a travel cot. When researching we had just spent 2 weeks using a traditional travel cot - heavy hard to set up and hard to move around. Then we found the Baby Bjorn Travel Crib Lite. It weighs less than 4 kilograms and sets up in less 30 seconds, and down again in less than a minute. It's so light and simple even I can do it. There is a cute video on YouTube of the Dad Labs guys getting the demo. I think it is worth the money.
There is a Phil and Teds version of the travel crib which is lighter (2.7kgs) and folds smaller but there are a few things I (personally) didn't like about it when compared to the Baby Bjorn Crib - it has an inflatable mattress rather than a 'traditional' mattress which I felt could become a hassle, and it has a narrower top opening which could be closed which didn't appeal. The crib is approximately $240-$280 from: Baby Earth (cheapest) or Giggle, Babies R Us, Target, Diapers.com.
Next is the portable highchair - and I can't live without this. It brings little O right up to the table is as clean as I keep it, is easy to install and uninstall and light enough to carry around with at all times in the bottom of the stroller. Oh, and the best part - the weight limit is 18 kilos which equates to roughly a three or four year old which means I don't have to buy a booster seat later. Approximately $49 from Baby Earth, giggle, target, diapers.com, Amazon.
Toys... travel toys are a personal choice you're going to know which ones the kids will like and want to play with. But my neat trick for keeping them all together is this - the Tide fine washables bag from the Container Store. It's big enough to fit a few toys in but small enough not to be too bulky, it's flexible, light weight, see through so I can see the toy I'm looking for and it's cheap. It's only $3.99. Plus, I can use it home for my fine washables too.
The number one toy for our travels is the Gertie ball. It inflates with a straw so you can pack it flat and inflate it at you destination. Perfect. You can get yours from Tugooh Toys in Georgetown, Kinderhaus Toys in Clarendon or Amazon or Baby Earth.
I also take with us a small bottle of dish washing liquid for washing cups, plates, bowls, sippy cups and any accidents that happen in the car. I also take some liquid tide in a mini packet in case I need to wash out strawberries from a favourite t-shirt.
Happy travels if this post holiday season takes you on a journey!
(Note: I've not compared the US prices and products to those available in Australia.)
Paperartzi Boutique have FREE Express Post (For Australia) on Pre Xmas Orders - so there is still time to buy for the little ones in your life.
They have a great range of toys and gifts for babies, toddlers and mummies. As well as stationary and scrapbooking needs.
My pick for a baby or toddler would be the Alimrose Monkey Rattle. He's cute, and his limbs are the perfect size for little hands, and he comes in pink, red, navy and baby blue. Of course, Aussie brand Alimrose Designs have tons of other really beautiful toys for babies and kids!
Another Aussie favourite is top3 by design, they too are boasting that there is still time to order before Christmas. They're offering free wrapping!
They have the design best of everything from key fobs, to baby bottles, beach towels, watches and jewelry trees.
And finally, Kiki-K's (beautiful stationary & gifts) members only 20% off exclusive offer ends Thursday midnight. Enter code santa09 at the checkout - and yes there is still time to post things to loved ones. But maybe if you've left it this late might be time to buy yourself something to get organised? I know I will be!
I know I just did a post, but Stroller Traffic (another blog I follow) just released this post:
Suddenly That Elmo Coloring Book Seems Awfully Lame.
Any City, USA.
With Crayola’s “Lights, Camera, Color!” feature, you can upload your own photos to the Crayola website and convert them to coloring book pages. No joke. It’s the coolest thing ever. It takes two seconds, but you need an “access code,” which you can find on the inside of specially marked boxes of crayons—or you can try using our code: PR24QCHT. Test it out at crayola.com
Firstly, I'd like to say it is well worth flying with Virgin Atlantic, even if it is just so you can watch the safety video. Or you could just have a look here:
They were fantastic in both directions, and the plane wasn't really full which was also a bonus. Little O got her own seat too, which was great for both her and us. It meant she had her own space and could watch the TV.
For more domestic travel there’s the train Amtrak (Remember to book at least 14 days in advance for the cheaper fares). Or maybe bus it to New York, we recently traveled with DC2NY and found it to be a really great service. It leaves from Dupont Circle, was only $25 each way and was clean and quiet, though I wouldn’t ever recommend traveling by bus to New York over Thanks Giving again. There’s also Vamoose and Bolt Bus amongst many others.
Something you might not have have thought of when researching your travel destination is looking at Flickr, by searching for your destination like New York, you can see the photographs that others have taken and perhaps get a good idea of what you might like to visit when you’re there. If you’re a hobby photographer too you might find some ideas to take some interesting and creative snaps of your own. Here's just one of the images I found by searching for New York, right.
We also discovered recently that you can purchase individually chapters of the Lonely Planet guides so you could either print them out, or just read on your phone while you’re there. A great idea if you don’t want to be carrying a giant guide book with you wherever you’re going. Lonely Planet also have extra content available online for your travel research.
I think I may have given enough hints on where to find kids gifts so how about cards? Real Simple have some great ideas for ‘10 Joyful holiday cards’ in their ‘Daily Finds’ section. You could also find Holiday decorating tips and ideas as well as recipes, gift and gift wrapping ideas too.
My favourite Mummy find of late is the Clementine Art Products. They have all natural soy crayons, and soy crayon rocks for little hands as well as modeling dough, paint, glue and markers. If only the rocks were a little larger Olive might not think they’re food. I found these at Whole Foods (Arlington), just $5.50 per packet, more expensive than regular crayons but far more kid friendly!
We also used a fantastic American site called Birthday Express. We had intended to buy some cheap and fun party ware for a little holiday party and found that it was great quality and wasn’t nearly as tacky as we’d hoped - a pleasant surprise really! Who’d have thought that Pink Parisian Poodles and Eiffel Tower cups wouldn’t be all that tacky?
Daily Candy recently featured this website www.greenvalleychristmastrees.com in their daily newsletter. They actually deliver Christmas trees to your door. You pick the type (white pine, noble or Fraser fir) and size (up to nine feet); Green Valley packs it in a protective, moisture-resistant carton with a predrilled trunk and removal bag. Shipping is free, and prices max out at less than $250. Good news for Mr H who now won’t have to carry the Christmas tree home from Whole Foods, better news for me because I can ‘accidentally’ order a bigger tree than we have agreed upon!
Babyccino (another daily email/blog) I love, ) had an article about where to find cookie cutters in London so here’s my pick for DC - www.williams-sonoma.com, www.surlatable.com, you can also find some on www.amazon.com - like this Kangaroo cookie cutter I found - a great idea for Australia day!
One last one a great product I’ve found recently is The Flip. It’s a HD video camera roughly the size of a mobile phone and the easiest piece of technology to use. You can share videos simply and easily with just a few mouse clicks. I bought mine at www.giggle.com but it’s available at www.amazon.com. www.bestbuy.com, www.target.com, www.staples.com and many others. You can also customise your Flip at www.theflip.com by designing your own, or uploading a photograph it’s completely up to you. I love it and I wouldn’t be without it now! It’s especially great for sharing short video clips of Olive with the Grandparents. The picture (right) links to a USA Today review of the product.
So it's no secret that Australian's can't quite live without Tim Tam's and Vegemite. All right some can but I am not one of those lucky few. There so many things I miss about Australian food too - taste, less sugar, no high fructose corn syrup, not having corn in everything a long list but you get the idea.
So, last week after Gymboree I went upstairs to Trader Joe's for a drink and a few groceries before heading home. Imagine how excited I was when whilst picking up some bread (which incidentally doesn't taste like rubbish, has hardly any sugar and actually contains some fibre) when I found crumpets. Yes good old crumpets. Mmm yummy. Crumpets with a little butter and some honey (also purchased form Trader Joe's). In my excitement I haven't a clue how much they were, but I don't really care all that much!
This week life got even better.
I was shopping with a friend in Target and she mentioned these:
So I am one very excited person, and right before winter too. Is there anything better than Tim Tam slams? This little find gets better. It is a product of Australia. Yep, they must be a repackaged version of the real thing.
And only $2.50. I must admit I hesitated in making this post, I anticipate that my local target will sell out. Have you found them anywhere else?
Have you found anything that tastes like home that you'd like to share?
In the interests of fairness here are my gift ideas for a boy. I have three nephews all around the age of two so there is some need for this research!
First, and probably what I will go with is the Bilibo. It's is designed for Children age two to seven, and it is an award winning Imagination Toy.
KidStyleFile reviewed the toy in 2008, you can read the review here. Probably the most important part of the review -
"Pros - Encourages imagination. Can’t get much safer. Not battery operated. No moving parts. High quality, lasts well. Can be used indoors and out. If you have more than one, they stack, and you can store things inside them. Good range of colours. They look cool!
Cons - None"
There are also some cute videos on YouTube of the toy in action... there really are no limits!
So what does a toy that has no limits cost? In Australia it will cost you approximately AUD$39, in the US it is approximately USD$30
Where do you buy? Australia: You can buy from Urban Baby, metro mum and IQ Toys and many others. Urban Baby are giving a free bag to go with the toy. USA: There are a stores in and around DC that stock the toy - Giggle (Friendship Heights, MD) Toys R Us & Target (online only) and Home Rule at 1807 14Th St NW (not available on their website). There are of course plenty of other sites/stores that stock it.
The Bilibo also comes in mini (above right, approximately US$10 for two)...
Green Toys have a great line of classic children's toys constructed from recycled plastic and other environmentally friendly materials. The dump truck has a workable dumper, no BPA, no coatings, is non toxic and durable. See Green Toys for a list of stockists both in the USA, Australia and beyond.
They also have many many other designs - Frisbee, Tea Set, Bucket & Spade sand set...
For the little traveler how about a Trunki? UK designed Trunki is the ideal luggage for a little person. It has a hard shell, wheels and a lead, why you ask? Well, that's easy - it is the world's first ride on luggage. Yep, ride on. So load them up with all the gear the little one needs on the plane, wheel the Trunki and the child through airports and stow the Trunki safely in the overhead locker.
Trunki's come in many colours, er, sorry Characters... Harley the limited edition Ladybug, Tipu (right), Trixie, Terrance and Towgo. This is perhaps less a 'boy' specific gift and more gender neutral.
There is a Trixie (hot pink, green ears) living in little O's room anxiously awaiting our holiday.
How much? Approx USD$50-$60 (depending on character) the USA and around AUD$80-85 in Australia.
So, my inspirations are probably a little old for Little O, but I've found some things I just love.
There's this amazing tent by Haba, which I think may actually come and live at our house. Little O loves to sit under tables and things, so I think she may actually really enjoy a nice place to 'hide'. Haba have a small range of very cute tents for both boys and girls. I found this one on moolka.com, it's also available on Amazon and loads of other sites.
I've found that I quite like the Haba brand, it is "a German toy manufacturing company known for high-quality baby and children's toys, as well as for children's games, furniture and room decorations. Well known around the globe as "..toys that last generations..." (from Moolka.com)
This morning I am quite excited about "The Fairy Door" from Monkeytail & Wellington. Oh, how cute. Monkeytail & Wellington are an Australian company based in Queensland, and we do love to support Australian companies.
You can design your own fairy door - I am quite partial to the one I've pictured left, however there are a few different shaped doors. Best of all the doors are one of a kind and painted with child friendly glues and paints.
"Not all fairies like to live in the garden. Some are metropolitan dwellers who take to suburban homes and apartment buildings. But how do they get there and where do they live? Well, if you want fairies to enter your home, you need to install a fairy door and we have just the ticket!"
From the fairy door, I followed a link to the Monkeytail & Wellington blog and found an adorable DIY project. There is a store on Etsy (which I've mentioned before I guess the best way to describe Etsy is to say it's a sales website for cottage businesses) called "Goose Grease" which sells customisable do-it-yourself wooden pocket people. So after painting the family Monkeytail & Wellington made a fabric doll house, using this FREE tutorial. Here's a picture of the finished product.
This leads me to the next Etsy find - and now I'm really looking for someone who can sew! After looking at the felt food in Pottery Barn kids, in particular the cupcakes I thought this can't be that hard, I wonder if I can find the items cheaper? So I googled and found Haba do some amazing felt food ever thought you needed a felt weiner schnitzel? How about a roast chicken? Not satisfied the googling continues and then this:
Golf Coast Cottage sell patterns for a pantry and fridge full of cool felt food and other fun things. The patterns are just US$5.99. Buy 4 get 1 free, or you can buy 10 patterns, of your choice for US$45.00. Felt sushi anyone?
Let's hope Little O likes to play in a kitchen when she can stand on her own...
So the most recent newsletter with an entire page of my shopping tips (this time) was sent yesterday. I've been writing little bits for the newsletter for a couple of months now and I am starting to forget what I've written. So I thought I'd compile all the entries here, and more, so that they could be searched through more easily.
I'll add new things when I find them or at least try to make a posting once a week.
I think you know you have officially become a mother when you begin thinking about Christmas gifts in September. So here are some ideas...
Australian Based Sites:
Let's save on the shipping and handling and just have something shipped straight to the recipient. You say lazy, I say eco-friendly! My plan is to ship everything to the mothers and have them do the distribution on the big day.
Western Australian based "The Good Store" prides itself on its useful present ideas. Believing that "to be genuinely cool, things worth owning should last for ages, do something worth doing, look good and provide a simple pleasure in their everyday use", and that concept works for me!. www.thegoodstore.com.au
An awesome concept, Top 3 By Design stock the top three items in many many categories www.top3bydesign.com.au
Myer has a 'limited' range of products for sale on their website too. I wonder if we can still earn Myer One points? This is probably a good starting point for those who really don't know where to start, as it's split into categories: Gifts for Home/Him/Her etc. http://gifts.myer.com.au/default.aspx
At the risk of going overboard I have a huge list of Australian Baby and kids blogs and online stores. Let me know if you'd like to see some (more) of those.
American websites...
Of course there are plenty of other sites, here are just a few.
Perhaps a good place to start the search for the perfect gift might be: www.gifts.com/ you can search by occasion, recipient, personality type or take the easy road and look at the top 10 gifts.
Looking for something a little different? Maybe handmade? Try http://www.etsy.com/buy.php I don't think there is anything you couldn't find here.
Have you given any thought to those? It's a guaranteed Grandparent pleaser... Here are some of the sites I know about -
www.Shutterfly.com (This is my personal favourite, I find it quick and easy to navigate the books are a great quality and production and shipping is fairly quick)
