My first memory of consumer mania would have to be the Cabbage Patch Kids. I was about 7 years old, and ALL of my friends had one… at least. One of my friends had 6! I was so jealous.

You couldn’t buy them anywhere. We heard stories of lines for hours outside the store and parents literally knocking people down to grab one of these prized possessions.

Then one day we went to one of the local stores to see if they had any. Of course, they didn’t. But a helpful employee clued my mom into the fact that they would be getting their next shipment in at about 2:00 p.m. that day!!! So we went to lunch and arrived back at the store at about 1:40. That was the longest 20 minutes!!!

Lo and behold, in roll the prized Cabbage Patch Kids. There were probably 30 of them. They were gone almost as quickly as they rolled in. But there was no violence. And I did manage to get a very pretty one! I was so happy.

I think I got a second one for Christmas the same year. So I had a bald baby and an older girl with long hair. Eventually the fad died down… only after the gross callback by Garbage Pail Kids cards. Blehhhh!

Now Cabbage Patch Kids are celebrating their 25th anniversary! (Wow. That makes me feel old.) This season you can get a one-of-a-kind, Limited Edition 25th Anniversary Cabbage Patch Kid. So now, my generation can share the warm memories with our kids. I only hope that people don’t hurt one another trying to grab one!

I was lucky enough to receive an advance shipment of one of these lovely ‘Kids. Her name is Stella Debby. Her birthday is June 28th. She came in a specially marked box with a commemorative 25th anniversary silver spoon. (We were admittedly a bit let down to find that the spoon is actually plastic. Oh well.)

Twilli loves the spoon!! lol She carried it around for about an hour, while I was promptly using Stella as a model for photographing my Twilli Pie Podegi baby carriers. I was pleasantly surprised to get the ‘Kid. I’d been wanting a doll of more appropriate size to use as a model for the still photos of the podegis. The only other baby doll Twilli has is very small… an appropriate size for a baby to actually play with.

Twilli is very curious about the ‘Kid’s clothes and disposable diaper. It’s an old-school diaper. You know. One of the shiny plastic kind… Not the improved, fabric-type ones. (The fact that my teen son wore those old-school diapers also makes me feel old!) I’m trying to keep her from getting at the diaper. At least it has the resealable tabs!

I find it curious that someone with one tooth, in a diaper, could have such long hair! lol And my friend was concerned that Twilli would grow up with a complex about wanting blonde hair. I’m not too worried about that.

I’ll do an update once I get some photos of Twilli playing with the ‘Kid. But until then, check out the CPK 25th Anniversary celebration website.

Please LEAVE A COMMENT sharing your stories/memories of your Cabbage Patch Kid. Send a link to photos. We love old photos! Will you buy one for your kid?

I realize it’s been a while since I’ve posted about cool products. So I decided to send some link love in more than one direction.

I just found a great contest website called The-Giveaway.com! They are giving away a pair of soft-soled leather shoes from Bobux.

I hadn’t ever seen Bobux shoes before. They have an amazing selection. I want to buy one of almost every style!! I would have to build a special closet for all of Twilli’s shoes! That would be a great problem to have. lol

These are definitely my favorite style… mainly because they remind me of my old Doc Martens Mary Janes that I kept for over ten years! I would love for Twilli to have some cute little black MJs too! Of course, we’d be lucky if she could fit in them for 10 weeks!

So check out the Bobux shoe giveaway and maybe you will win some cute shoes for your little one.

We are finally happy done with the TWILLI PIE PODEGI prototype development! We will be making exclusively narrow blanket podegis, for the time being. We prefer the straight straps, although angled straps will be an option. And each TWILLI PIE Podegi will feature at least one piece of reclaimed or vintage fabric. This is an effort to recycle, and thus keep a bit more out of the landfill!

We are happy to introduce the newest Twilli Pie pod, “Water for Chocolate”.

“Water for Chocolate” features internally reinforced and padded baby corduroy straps. The front side of the podegi body has a lovely designer print fabric as the focal point, with a corresponding double pocket. We have also added a TP signature design element of the vertical band of fabric. This reinforces the branding in the logo and forms the letter “T” when the straps are extended out to the sides. There is also a solid blue cotton fabric and reclaimed denim for the “tail”.

The reverse side is solid navy blue twill with the vertical bar in the same designer print from the front. The reverse side of all Twilli Pie Podegis will be solid, or minimal print. We like to be diplomatic, and hope that a more gender neutral side will be appealing to babywearing daddies.

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT and let us know what you think of the new Twilli Pie Podegi!

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On top of everything else, our a/c died last week. We are in South Florida, where summer is already in FULL FORCE! So it is very hot at home. I have to admit that these are the days when it sucks to work from home. lol

So yesterday we decided to take a swim to cool off. I was excited to finally use my solarveil water sling in the pool! I have worn Twilli in the ocean with it before. But we hadn’t been in the pool yet.

Twilli really enjoyed being close to me in the water. And she just looks so stinkin’ cute in black! This sling is awesome! It is UV protective too. The ONLY problem is that once we got out of the water, and thus out of near-weightless-baby-zone, Twilli seemed a lot heavier than before. But even when the sling is wet, it is still quite supportive and comfortable.

Just so there is no confusion… I do not make ring slings. This water sling was made by a lovely work-at-home mama in Puerto Rico - Apapachame. I am always happy to give a shameless plug to worthy wahms! Check out her site. Her prices, workmanship, and service are excellent!

*For the babywearing purists out there: y KNOW the rings are quite a bit too low. hehehe They just always inch down when we adjust, and I decided I wasn’t going to worry about it.

In the name playing catch-up I am posting some FRIDAY FUN FINDS that have been sitting around waiting to be posted for a month! lol There’s no time like the present! Right?

This week we have SOCK MONKEY SLIPPERS with memory foam in the soles and CUSHY STRAPS plush kitty strap pads for your carseat, stroller, etc.

The slippers are actually quite comfy! And they look cute on my feet as well! We have tile and hard wood (bamboo to be exact) floors. So I rarely go barefoot around the house. It’s nice to have something other than flip-flops to wear around the house. I got these slippers on clearance at Target for $6.99. They retail for $12.99. I love to find the deals!

We haven’t tried out the strap cozies yet. They are very soft plush with plenty of padding. I’m sure Twilli will find them quite tasty as well! And they were a great buy for $3.99! I got them at a wonderful local baby “everything” store called BabyLove This store is very well stocked with many items that you would not find in a big box store. I LOVE supporting local and privately owned biz!

Keep your head warm, and nostalgia in your heart with the hand-knitted R2D2 beanie. I first read about it on TechnoGad.

I believe it was first made by Mary at Excessively Diverted. I don’t believe this is available for purchase. But if you know how to knit, you will be happy to find the R2D2 knit hat pattern here.

If I lived in a place that actually HAD winter, I would definitely wear this! And of course we would have one for Twilli too!

Would YOU wear one of these hats? Please leave a comment and tell us about the craziest beanie you ever wore.

Baby Learns to Play and Develops Motor Skills

Our baby angel, Ariana, recently turned 3 months old. She’s growing like a weed and learning new things daily. The other day, she started playing with her hands. She would cross her fingers together. We were thrilled! She’s developing motor skills! But she does not LOOK at her hands while she plays with them.

Periodically, I’ve tried to encourage her to play with her gifts that our dear friend, Debbie, sent before the baby was born. The package states an age range of “0-12 months”. DH and I were surprised by the lack of toys for newborns in the stores. So I had searched diligently for compatible age range gifts to register for. This set was one of the few available. Of course when we brought the baby home, and all she did was eat, sleep and produce diapers, we realized WHY so many toys say 3 months+.

The supposed experts say that babies love to look at faces, whether they are real or fake, as early as the first few weeks. So I’ve been showing her the “smiley space face rattle” for quite some time. She never seemed too interested. But lately, she’s been smiling when we show her this toy. It has a mirror on the back. But she seems to prefer the face.

Today, however, Ariana really seemed to enjoy this toy. She giggled and cooed at the face. And she followed it with her eyes back and forth, up and down.

I decided to test the developmental progress even more. So I helped her put her little hands around each side. She held on with two hands for a few seconds. Then she let go with one hand and actually passed it to her other hand!

I knew she must be having a growth spurt, because she’s been eating non-stop lately. But it looks like she’s making some major developmental strides as well!

I guess I should enjoy the time that her opinion about toys is “take it or leave it”. We have years of toy envy to look forward to. But I’ve admittedly been swayed by marketers and industrial psychologists to want to make the biggest impact in helping my baby learn. This is accomplished by bright and contrasting colors, various textures, weights, and sounds. Apparently, the Sassy products get rave reviews for babies of all ages!

I just wish the toys had been this cool and thought provoking when I was growing up!