Nakita Grinie

What a whirlwind this past week has been.

School started today (more on that later this week!)

Last week was spent in my classroom getting things ready for school and also trying to soak up every last minute of Summer with my kiddos.

 And, I can't believe I haven't announced the winners of my 6 year Blogoversary Giveaway!

 Congrats to all the winners! 

Please leave a comment with your email so I can get in touch with you about your prize!

And, again, if you didn't win, please support these amazing women & small business owners!

I also have 2 other giveaways going on right now!

$100 American Express Giftcard Giveaway {HERE}

$100 Visa Giftcard Giveaway {HERE}

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Here is a sneak peak about what we have been up to the past week

We had a Kindergarten playdate at the splash pad for Claire:

Helped some of our friends move into a house less than a mile from ours:

 

 Went to the circus:

Kevin started on a house project.....Demo of our current Fireplace. Nothing like starting a home reno project the last week of summer. Yikes!!

Completed the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge:

I read my final book of the summer...(I finished it in 1 day....SO good!!)

Drank a lot of coffee getting amped up for Back to School...thanks for the wisdom Oprah:

I dragged my kids to my classroom for several hours so I could get things organized for this week:

Not only was last week the last week of Summer, but Kevin and I celebrated our 12 wedding Anniversary!

Our actual anniversary was yesterday, but we decided to celebrate it on Saturday night instead.

(Having a date night on a Sunday night before the 1st day of school would not be relaxing!)

For our date night, we did one of our favorite things.....rode our cruisers downtown for drinks & dinner! 

 Gotta love a selfie while riding a bike. #skills :)

Yummy drinks:

Pork Chop & Balsamic Glazed Peaches....YUM.

 Filet Mignon. So good. YUM.

 Creme Brulee for dessert. Amazing.

 Love date nights. Can't believe this was our first date night of the entire summer...and it was on the last night of summer.

And here we were 12 years earlier. Babies!

 After our date night on Saturday night at 3:20 in the morning to an Earthquake. It was a BIG one.

One of the biggest ones we have had since 1989. It was a 6.0 Earthquake. It lasted a looong time. 

Ugh. Earthquakes are no fun. The epicenter of the quake was right outside Napa, and it hit Napa hard.

Here is a photo from one of my friends who owns several restruants in our town and he has 1  restaurant in Napa.

 This is a photo he posted on FB showing some damage to his Napa Restaurant....all of their wine....crashed to the floor.

Ironically, we were at one of his restaurants just hours before on our date night!

Lots of prayers for those in Napa, there was tons of damage throughout Napa because of this Earthquake.

So there you have it....a random recap of our last week.

School started today & we are trying to get back into the swing of things!

I can't believe summer is actually over. 

It was one of the fastest summers yet.

Have your kids started school yet?

It's time for another post about Mel's Must Have Baby Products.
I started this series because have gotten several emails from readers/friends who are pregnant with their first babies  (or just had their first babies) and they wanted my advice on baby items.

Luke is our 3rd (and final) baby and since he was born almost 4 years after Claire, I had given away ALL our baby stuff.  ALL of it.
I wanted to be mindful of what I got for Luke knowing that it would only be used for him & then given away/donated. I only wanted to get the absolute necessary things to avoid lots of clutter in my house. I just can't handle clutter.

Here are my 9-12 month must haves:

Britax Marathon - This is hands down our favorite car seat to use after the babies are done with the infant seat. Both girls used them and now Luke does.  At 5 years old, Claire still uses hers in my car. They are easy to install and one of the safest on the market. They must be comfortable because none of my kids have complained about riding in them for long periods of time. In fact, once Kate switched to her booster, she complained that her booster wasn't comfortable & that she wanted to sit in her carseat. They last for years & years. Can't recommend this car seat enough!

Egg Stackers Set- Luke got a set of these this summer and he LOVES them. In fact, the girls love them also! He loves stacking them and matching up the eggs. He plays with them almost everyday.

Push Around Buggy - We were given one of these when Kate was a baby and they are so fun. Perfect for when they are about 9 months old  (and older!) It is a good alternative for going on a walk around the neighborhood or pushing it around the yard. All 3 of mine have loved this buggy.

PBK Chamois Stroller Blanket - Someone gave me this blanket after Kate was born and I always used it in her stroller when we went on walks. After Claire was born, we used it for her. Claire loved this blanket so much, it is now her "blankey". The one she sleeps with every.single.night. We have a blue one now for Luke (won't let him sleep with it yet) but it is perfect for chilly rides in the stroller now.

Old Navy Body Suits - After 3 kids, I can officially say that these onesies are the best. My kids wear oneies most days until they are 1 (I ditch the onesies after they turn 1) I love the Old Navy ones because they are totally affordable, so soft, and have totally adorable prints. I am a sucker for stripes, especially for boys. I think 75% of Luke's clothes have stripes (or plaid)

Gap Socks - These are my favorite socks for this age. At 9-12 months, babies are crawling all over the place, but these socks stay on. At 9-12 months, babies have discovered their feet and try and take socks off....these socks are really hard for them to take off. And, they have little grippers on the bottom, so as they are starting to cruise around & learn to stand/walk, these socks help them not slip.

Baby Food in Pouches - These were not around when I had the girls. LOVE them. So easy to bring on the go & not have to deal with the glass jars. I keep a back up in my car and one in my purse. By the time Luke was 1, he could feed them to himself (without making too big of a mess!)

Baby Food Pouch Spoons - I did not even know about these until my friend Becky was using them to feed her baby Evan at soccer a couple months ago.  They attach to any brand baby food pouch! After I saw Becky use them, I immediately bought some the next day. Even though Luke doesn't eat out of the pouches that much, they come in so handy. I use them almost everyday when I feed Luke in the car after I pick up Kate & while we wait to pick up Claire from school.

Carter's Footie PJ's - I am a pajama snob. I only buy these fleece jammies for my kids. The fleece holds up amazingly and the price can't be beat. After I had Kate, I saved all her clothes and used them for Claire. I couldn't believe how well these held up through BOTH girls. And, if you know my kids, you know they wear jammies ALL THE TIME. Luke practically lived his first 6 months of life in these jammies.

Vans Slip On Shoes - When kids are first starting to walk, it is all about soft soled shoes. Kevin loves Vans, so he was thrilled when I got Luke these baby vans. I am a fan of Pedipeds (and still am!) but these slip on Vans are great also, they stay on Luke's feet and have the soft soles which is so important for those early walkers!

Green Toys Trucks - Luke is all boy. We have dolls out, babies, Barbies, trucks and balls and Luke is alllll about the trucks & balls. Love these trucks (and they are Green... is made from 100% recycled plastic milk containers. Got love eco-friendly toys!

Rattle Roll Push Toy - We don't have this toy at our house, but Luke has it in the nursery and the ladies there always say how much he loves it. Anything Melissa & Doug is my favorite. Always good quality!

Baby Bath Tub Ring Seat - Luke is a busy, busy boy. Giving him a bath is a nightmare. He won't sit. Unlike the girls, they just sat & played with bath toys. All Luke wants to do is stand up & walk in the bathtub. So dangerous. Everytime I give him a bath, I end up getting soaked because I get in there with my clothes to try and keep him sitting (and safe) He doesn't like to just sit & play with bath toys anymore. I had to do something, so I bought one of these for Luke. If you have a wriggly kiddo in the tub, I recommend this!