Mommy Tips: Cute Nursery of the Day!

I'm in LOVE with this nursery. Where do I start? The color palette of yellow and turquoise is one of my faves, the striped ceiling is fantastic, the wall to wall jute carpeting, the wall of books, the LOVE pillow on the rocker, THE OTTOMAN...OMG, the blah blah mobile and the Jonathan Adler giraffe lamp... PERFECTION!

Judah turns 2!

Dear Junebug,

I finally got a hold of some pics from your friend Judah's 2nd Birthday. Mommy was so sad she was out of town and couldn't be there to see this Cowboys and Indians extravaganza! Auntie Alison and Uncle Jason always know how to throw a good party and this was no exception. Daddy told me you loved the goats and of course the Tee-Pee's! And look at those cupcakes, Yum Yum!

XO

Mommy

Mommy Tip: Photos by Rebecca Fishman Photography (check her out!)

Camille turns 5!

Dear Junebug,

Your social calendar in 2011 has been quite full. We were so excited to get the invite to our favorite Ginger, Camile's 5th birthday party which was all about fairies and princesses. You were OBSESSED with the ball pit at the Coop where the party took place. I think you did quite well with the "big kids" but it's a good thing your best buddy Kee-O! (Cleo) was on hand to take care of you. When it was time for cake she was right there, sat you next to her and made sure you were okay. Then you got to take home your very own set of fairy wings and wand! WOW!

XO

Mommy

BIRDS!

Dear Junebug,

What could make you happier than chasing birds around the beach with your Uncle Kyle and Auntie Alex? If these pictures had sound there would be a lot of - OH WOW! and OOOOOH OOOOH OOOOH! BIR! BIR! BIR! It looks like you inherited the "Worthing family bird lovers gene" (more on that later).

XO

Mommy

Cleo turns FIVE!

Dear Junebug,

Cleo turned five and had a party befitting the rockstar that she is! It was at The Echo in Silverlake and included a live performance by Gwendolyn and the Good Time Gang. I never imagined you'd be going to a nightclub at less than 2 years old but after all it was a noon so... All the kids dressed up in their favorite costumes so there were princesses and superheroes running all over the place as well as tons of balloons and yummy pizza. Cleo got up on stage and did a rockin' rendition of "Itsy Bitsy Spider" which brought the house down. A day hasn't gone by that you don't ask to see the video. Cleo, or as you call her, KEE-O! is your idol and I can't think of a cuter, more adorable, fun little girl for you to look up to.

XO

Mommy

Mommy Tips: Cute Nursery of the Day!

I just LOVE the vibe of this nursery. The natural light, striped walls, the blue faux zebra rug, the modern chair and the blah blah mobile. Perfection!

Mission Organization: Day Eight - XMas Decorations

Well, this is it. 8 full days of organizing and I feel like I got a lot done. The last thing on my list is putting all the Christmas decorations away. The benefit of doing this correctly is that when you break them out next year everything is in it's place which makes the task of decorating a much easier and more pleasant one. I bought these containers from Target a couple of years ago. The plastic is green so there's no mistaking what's in there. The containers for ornaments snap together (snapware by Rubbermaid) for easy separating and storing. I don't wanna be that guy that still has their Christmas tree up on Valentine's Day! Or God forbid, the person who's tree gets so dry and bursts into flames!

Mission Organization Day 7: Master Bath

I'm going to call this exercise "Now you see it, now you don't!" But let me be clear about one thing... while cabinets that hide toiletries and things are KEY, this doesn't mean it should look like a hot mess on the inside. Here are my top tips for organizing the bathroom:

1. Buy toiletries in bulk! There's no reason to run out of anything, ever! And it's so much cheaper to buy quantity at Target than to run out to 7Eleven in an emergency for some toothpaste.

2. Organize your loose things in nice baskets and separate them in categories. Under the sink I have baskets labeled, "hair", "spa" and "face". I also use my handy dandy P-touch to label them so things don't get confused. I got these baskets at Cost Plus World Market.

3. Put as much of your stuff behind closed doors.

4. Clean out your drawers... if there are old Q-tips with eye shadow at the bottom of your drawers, that's a sign you need to do some work.

5. Don't keep toiletries or products you are not using; give it away or throw it out!

6. Make sure all your towels match and put them in a big basket. I like white towels.

7. Beautiful things should be functional. I hang my necklaces on a Madonna sculpture and use these little vases I picked up in Italy to put Q-tips, toothbrush and toothpaste.

Mommy Tips: Sham Wow!

So in my quest to get the house organized top to bottom I started going through drawers, cabinets, every nook and cranny I could find. It's awesome because if you're lucky you'll find some hidden treasure. Mine came the way of a box of Sham-Wow! That's right, those cloths you see on TV being pitched by that weird guy with the head set. I must admit I fell for the pitch, bought them at the "Seen on TV" store at the mall or Target (I can't remember it was so long ago) but for some reason, brought them home and stashed them away. So I pulled them out and they are awesome! Nanny went crazy not only because they are the best for cleaning spills but they're incredible for drying hand washed clothes. With a baby around, there's a lot of hand washing going on and with the Sham-Wow the drying is faster and easier.

Oh man, Oh boy...

Dear Junebug,

Yesterday when we were getting out of the car and it was pouring rain outside you very clearly said, "oh man"... Oh man, indeed. Sounds like someone's been picking up little phrases from her Daddy. "Oh boy" has been a big one lately too. I think it's time Daddy start watching how many F-bombs come out of his mouth... and no more road rage either!

XO

Mommy

Product Test: Baby Bouncers

At a recent dinner party with my girlfriends, we got on the topic of baby bouncers. Everyone thinks they're a God-send especially if you have a baby that doesn't like to lay down. BUT my friend pointed out that bouncers are the cause of hip problems for babies and it is not good for them. I seem to recall when we first got one for June that our pediatrician told us not to leave her in there for longer than 10 minute periods. She might've even said only ten minutes per day!!! I don't remember exactly, June hasn't used hers in almost a year at this point. I've tried to research this online but can't really come up with a good conclusion. Like all parenting choices, it's just that... it's a choice everyone has to make. But I'd like to say don't feel guilty for putting your kid in a bouncer. After all, everyone needs a break.

Mission Organization: Day Seven - The Perfect Diaper Bag!

My friend Noel Cianci started a bag line called Gypsy Style and I find her stuff the makings of the perfectly organized diaper bag. First of all, the bags are made of eco-friendly, 100% recycled plastic material (post-consumer plastic soda bottles and wrappers) and their signature fabric is weightless. Don't get me wrong, a backache from a Gucci bag is okay now and then but day to day you want weightless! My favorite style for a diaper bag is the "gypsy tote" which is $45.00. But what's even more exciting are the "travel tote" pouches which I use to organize the contents of the bag. I use three... one for diaper stuff, one for food/snack stuff and a third for a change of clothes. Throw a couple of toys/books loose in the bag and you're good to go. I also finally made hang tags for each pouch so that when I'm rushing out the door I have a check list in front of me and never forget anything (my goal is laminated tags but I'm not there yet). I love it when I'm at a restaurant and need to go handle a diaper change, I just grab the pouch with the diaper stuff and don't have to drag every single thing into the bathroom. I'm also not scrambling in the bottom of the diaper bag for a wipe. Make your own checklists and never find yourself out and about freaking out because you forgot something! It's happened to me so many times... no more.

My lists:

Diaper pouch

5 diapers

2 poopy bags

1 tube of diaper cream

2 soft cloths

1 travel size hand sanitizer

1 disposable changing pad

Food pouch

Cheerios

Elmo crackers

Cookies

Sippy cup with water

Bottle with milk

Emergency Clothing pouch

2 pairs of leggings

2 t-shirts

2 pairs of socks

1 pair of sunglasses

Add:

Camera

Wallet

Cell phone

2 books

2 toys