Awesome Website

I think many of us new mom's all wonder if we are doing the right things developmentally for our little ones.  While reading Kelly's Korner blog recently, I ran across an old post of hers which mentioned the Productive Parenting website. 

You can enter your child's age and it will email you daily, with age appropriate activities!  You can also search the site for ideas. 

I've been using Twinkle Toes adjusted age and so far, so good.  I guess I'm actually doing something right in my parenting adventures!

Reflection

There are times that I look at this little girl

And it is just so hard for me to remember that she once looked like this

Her head was the size of my fist!



Or that her little legs looked like chicken legs - poor thing! 
So small, fragile and willing to thrive!

Or that she lived like this for the first few weeks of her life

It was a triumph to get her to finish a 2 oz bottle! 

This was one of her first days at HOME!    

And now she growing

And Growing!

And is now completely off of the Oxygen that helped her lungs develop and become stronger in our thin high altitude air!

And she is now smiling, giggling and totally fascinated with the lights of the season! (Picture to come soon!)

Ok enough reflection!  I truly can't believe it is nearly December 1st!

Product Review - Eye Serum

As a working mom, time is in short supply.  I'm constantly go, Go, GO!!  I no longer have the time to pamper myself - big surprise, right?!

Well I have found this awesome product to help the skin around my eyes

Clinique's All about Eyes Serum!

It is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!  So quick as it has a rollerball that not only feels nice and cool when applied but it's just the right amount everytime.  It's like a little eye massage everytime I apply it too.  It has helped with the mild dark circles that I have had from time to time.

It is a bit expensive but totally worth it, in my opinion.

Twinkle Toes is FOUR months old today!

Twinkle Toes - you are FOUR months old!!!!
Adjusted/Corrected age of 10 weeks

What are you up to these days????



I love the little Turkey's on her sleeper!



·    You are completely off of the Oxygen!  This makes mommy and daddy VERY happy.

·    You have learned to grab - you are most interested in my hair.  You are starting to grab your toys and hold on to them now.

·    You smile when I talk to you.  You are starting to laugh more and more each day.

·     You turn to look at us when you hear our voices. Especially for your daddy. When he comes home from work and you hear him - you always turn and look like "where did you come from daddy" and then you flash the biggest smile. You love him so much!

·    You are getting so tall. You really aren't very chubby - you are just long!

·    You are wearing 3-6 months size clothes and a size 1 diaper but I think that will quickly change.  Hopefully we can use up ALL of the size 1 diapers unlike the NB diapers.

·    We will see how much you weigh on 11/29.

·    You still like to eat about every 3 to 3 1/2 hours - 24/7. You rarely get up during the night.  Mommy and Daddy are truly thrilled that you sleep so well at night!

·    Every morning Daddy feeds you while I get ready for work - I love that time with you. We sit in Mommy’s office and you watch her get ready while you eat your bottle. 

·    You hate hates and your car seat! 

·    You really only cry now when you are really tired.

·    You are constantly reaching for your fingers to chew on them. We don’t think you are teething but maybe you just like to chew.

·    You still love your bath. You just chew your fingers and lay there like you could lay there forever. You are always so content at bath time.

·    Every morning when I wake up for the last time......you are always laying in your bed just as happy as a lark.

·    You are very close to rolling over.  You’ll typically roll to your left or right side and then roll right to your back again.

·    You are the Joy of mine and your daddy's lives!!!!!


Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  We know we have many reasons to be thankful, how about you?

Wordless Wednesday for 11/24/2010

Things to keep track of during your time in the NICU

Did you know that you can deduct medical-related mileage and medical expenses from your taxes?

Per the IRS.gov website "You may deduct transportation costs primarily for and essential to medical care that qualify as medical expenses. The actual fare for a taxi, bus, train, or ambulance can be deducted. If you use your car for medical transportation, you can deduct actual out-of-pocket expenses such as gas and oil, or you can deduct the standard mileage rate for medical expenses. With either method you may include tolls and parking fees.   You may include in medical expenses the incidental cost of meals and lodging charged by a hospital or similar institution if your principal reason for being there is to receive medical care."

If you haven't already, start keeping track of your trips to the hospital or doctor offices. For 2010, the standard mileage rate for the cost of operating your car for medical reasons is 16.5 cents per mile.
 
That can add up and you should take advantage of it.

• Keep a notebook in your car or at home listing each visit that you make to the hospital. Note the date and where you were traveling from. This will ensure that you keep an accurate record.
• Use your car's trip odometer to track how far away the hospital is from your house, office or anywhere else your routinely travel from to get to the hospital OR use Google Maps to determine your roundtrip mileage using the route you take.
• Once your baby is out of the hospital, keep track of mileage for doctor visits as well
• Keep all receipts for medicine, equipment, and insurance co-pays. These expenses can also be deducted from your taxes.

Check with your tax preparer on all guidelines and rules before filing.  This IRS publication helps explain everything in more detail.  And this page also explains it really well.

This can be a huge savings when it comes down to it.

Product Review - Birth Announcements

I wanted a special birth announcement for Twinkle Toes and knew that the standard birth announcement really wasn't what I had in mind.

I asked on a local message board and was told about Four Harp Designs on Etsy.  I am a HUGE Etsy lover and I love to support Etsy sellers.  Best yet, Four Harp Designs is a mommy run business, which I love.  Not only does Four Harp offer regular announcements but birth announcements for Preemies!

I found the perfect announcement for Twinkle Toes:

I know this may be hard to read, but what makes this announcement unique is that it includes the "Welcome Home" date and stats.  That makes this announcement one-of-a-kind in my book.

I worked with the owner and within a few short hours, she had the entire announcement ready.  The best part is that I did the printing.  She sets it up where you receive an electronic file, you save it and take it to your local print shop (Costco in my case) and I was able to print them and have them in my hands and ready for mailing within an hour!

This also allowed me to pick out really nice envelopes to coordinate with the announcements too.  I spent a total of $50 for 100 announcements, 100 envelopes and the digital file.  That is far cheaper than any other site I priced and I still supported a momma, which really made me happy.

Check out Four Harp Designs Blog and Etsy Shop