may desktop calendar!

Below is this month's desktop calendar. This time around you'll notice one of our vintage cruisers behind the flowers. That's because May is National Bike Month! Bike to work week, bike to school day, etc. 

There is also a summer-long bike challenge starting today. It started last year as a Wisconsin thing, and it went so well, they've expanded it to a national level this year. Log your miles for bike commuting, exercise, or even just rolling around the neighborhood with the family and you can win some really fantastic prizes. Sign up and start riding today!

You know the drill, wallpaper it up!

should i replace my kids' car seats if i'm in an accident?

Devon and I were in a car accident on Friday. Before anyone freaks out we're both okay. My back and neck are a bit sore. But nothing major, thank goodness.

I had left Tyler at his grandma's and Devon and I were going to run to a couple rummage sales. I had my left turn signal on and was at a stop waiting for oncoming traffic. All of a sudden I looked in the rearview mirror and saw a car coming up quickly behind me. I inched forward to see if there was enough room for her to stop but we still got rear ended. I have no idea why she couldn't stop, weather wasn't a factor, I had my signal on and was stopped waiting for a while.

The woman has insurance so she'll be covering the replacement of our car seats (hopefully). We have a call in to the insurance company and they should be getting back to me by Monday afternoon with information on how to proceed with the replacement.

So why do they need to be replaced? 1) The manual says you cannot use a car seat that has been in a crash (All but one manufacturer that I know of says this, that one has specific criteria that need to be met in order to warrant a replacement but I'd suggest replacing them regardless.) 2) Think of car seats like bicycle helmets. They use plastics and foams that are designed for one impact. This is why you shouldn't check a car seat as luggage either. You've seen the way they throw luggage around! And it doesn't matter whether there was a child in the seat during the crash or not, both Devon's and Tyler's seats need replaced!

Other reasons to replace your car seat include; your seat was purchased second-hand and you don't personally know the person that purchased and used the seat, your seat is beyond the expiration date (this is found on the sticker on the seat or you can call the manufacturer), your child has outgrown the height or weight limit of the seat.

So please read your car seat manual! And be aware of the 'rules' of your seat. Your child's life depends on it! Most of the time your insurance company will cover your car seats in the event of a crash but to be sure you should contact them. Also, most of the time the other person's insurance company will cover the seats if they were at fault. Sometimes you need documentation from the car seat manufacturer and sometimes they will replace them without a problem. I'm hoping they'll just replace ours but I'm prepared to fight for it! I'll keep you all updated!

If you want more info on car seats, I wrote a post about "choosing, installing, and using your car seat" last month. Also, visit the resources page and follow some of those links, lots of good information out there to keep your kiddos as safe as possible!

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earth day giveaway winner announced!

Guess what?! If you entered by leaving a comment on the Earth Day post, you're a lucky winner! That's right, we've decided to give a Chico bag to all six of you! Watch for an email or Facebook message about how we'll get your bag to you.


And just in case you haven't seen…you can get your very own bag by clicking on the "Buy Now" button in the side bar or below the photo.

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don't miss the giveaway!

***This giveaway is no longer accepting entries.***

We decided to do another Daisy Pedals Chico bag giveaway, but edited the post after the fact. So, in case you missed it, go comment on the Earth Day post by this Friday for a chance to win!

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happy earth day!

***This giveaway is no longer accepting entries.***



Happy Earth Day! For this post I was reading up on Earth Day, it goes back to 1970 in Wisconsin! We live in a good little state here where people care about what they do to the environment. If you'd like some history on Earth Day stop on over to Earth Day Network and you can check out if there are any events near you!

So what are we doing for Earth Day? I'm not really sure yet to be honest. We'll probably play outside and do a little grocery shopping. But we do think about the environment and our impact on it on a day-to-day basis.

Here are a few things we do:

-Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Obviously we recycle, that's easy. But we also reuse things, especially containers. Glass ones are reused for food or even bug jars! And plastic ones are used to organize crayons, markers, little toys, etc. And we're working on reducing…

-We're looking at trading in our Trailblazer for something more fuel efficient. We'll save some money and put out fewer pollutants.

-We try to get secondhand clothes for the boys. Some we purchase and some we're given. We're still able to get plenty of cute clothes but they don't need too much since they grow out of it pretty quickly still.

-We're mindful of the temperature that the thermostat is set to. During the winter we set it to 65° and then just bump it up a degree or two if we're cold, and at night it goes down to 62°. And during the summer I try not to turn on the air conditioner unless we really need it. "Really need it" usually means it's on when Aaron's home and when it's over 90° or really humid.

-We're trying to look into the chemicals we're using and use much less. I'm slowly transitioning to more gentle (to our bodies and then environment) soaps and cleaners for the family. You can do so much with baking soda, vinegar, a little castile soap!

- And also we use reusable shopping bags! For the rest of the month we'll be lowering the price of the Daisy Pedals Chico Bags to $10 with free shipping! Order yours today!

And we're doing another giveaway! Leave a comment here or on the Daisy Pedals Facebook Page for a chance to win a Daisy Pedals Chico bag! I'll announce the winner in next Saturday's post. Deadline to enter is Friday, April 27th at 10pm Central Time.

Do you have any plans for Earth Day? What do you do on a day-to-day basis for the Earth?

If you enjoyed this post please leave a comment! You can also ‘like’ Daisy Pedals on Facebook or subscribe by email or an rss reader in the sidebar.

updated resources page

The resources page is getting a little old… so it's been updated now!

Here are a couple of my favorite ones from the list:

Kellymom.com: Tons of breastfeeding resources. Anything you ever wanted to know about breastfeeding…and more!

Car-Safety.org: Basic car seat information, FAQ, forums and lots of other information on all different kinds of car seats.

TheBabywearer.com: Lots of information on baby carriers. Buy, sell or trade forums, learning forums, and general babywearing talk.

The updated resources page can always be found in the navigation bar at the top of the page. Check back often to see what's new!

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babywearing meetup

I'm a part of a couple local babywearing groups and we get together once a month to talk about wraps, soft structured carriers (SSCs), slings, etc. There are lots of moms and babies (and older children too) that talk about what's working and what isn't, get help if needed, and try out what carriers other mamas have. We've met at the library a few times but it's hard with the older kids as they get quite bored in a basement meeting room. So I volunteered my house for the meetup on Friday.

We spent the week cleaning and landscaping and was all ready when I went to bed Thursday night! Before I went to bed I took a look at the Facebook event and there were 8 people confirmed as going and 7 as maybe's. So I figured 10-12 or so would show up. Nope, we had at least 16-18 moms plus 1-4 children each!! It was a full house! But it was lots of fun!

Mamas and babies at the meetup

We tried new wrap carries (the way you tie the wrap), looked at everyone's new carriers and caught up on mom stuff! :) We only had one biting incident and one broken toy so I deem it a success!

The mama that runs the meetups, Brianna, has recently gotten certified as a Babywearing Educator and is doing consulting for parents, grandparents, and caregivers with babies and toddlers. Check out her Facebook page.

Any babywearers out there? Anyone else crazy enough to have a gaggle of kids and a whole lotta mamas over at your house?!

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sticks and stones: landscaping the front walk

Hey all, Ashley's favorite husband here. Just wanted to share a recent landscaping project we did. We really haven't done much to the landscaping since we moved in over two years ago. Most of our efforts were focused on the inside of the house.

So, what started as a little bit of shrubbery cleanup grew into a whole lot more. But for very little investment and a few (several) hours of work, we made a pretty big difference I think.

So it started with some cleanup of all the shrubbery. Quite a bit of dead and scraggle here.

 

Then some new mulch. And just that made quite the difference I thought.

 

We also dropped some flowers in the pot out front. We thought all this looked so nice that we thought we could take it a bit further. Ash had the great idea to reuse some of the edging stones from an area where they were completely unneeded and expand the edging to the other side of the front walk. Also, we would replace that sad excuse for a shrub in front with a couple little new ones.

 

But first we needed to take the wheelbarrow for a test drive.

Digging out the root-ball of the sad bush. Scraggle bushes are surprisingly easy to remove.

I ran a line so I could dig a trench for the edging stones somewhat straight-ish and an even distance from the walk.

Trench dug, stones set, new shrubs spaced, then planted.

After reading the kiddos a few bedtime stories, I really didn't have much left to do in the yard and I really just wanted to finish, so I hauled the utility lights into the yard (yeah, I'm that guy). Next, instead of a weed barrier I used several layers of newspaper and wet them down. It's supposed to work as well as the store-bought stuff. Time will tell.

Spread some mulch over the paper and went to bed. The next day we took some after photos and Tyler had fun walking the new stones.

So yeah, a couple rocks, a bit of mulch… makes quite a difference! It was nice getting dirty in the yard after being cooped up all winter (now if we can just get the lawn looking nicer). So what have you been working on this Spring?

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what you really need for your newborn baby: part 2

So yesterday I started a list of must have's for a new baby. You don't really need the 250 items that Babies 'R Us says you do!

Here's part two of the list:

bumGenius 4.0 cloth diapers

• Diapers/wipes: either cloth or disposable. If you're using cloth you can get one-sized diapers to use from birth to potty training, like we did. If you're using disposables you'll want at least a few packages of newborn sized diapers and then you can stock up on other sizes as they are on sale.

LüSa Booty Balm

• Diaper rash cream: we love LuSa Booty Balm! It's cloth diaper safe, natural, it smells good…and it works!

Bright Starts InGenuity Portable Swing

• One swing or bouncer chair: We didn't use it too much but a small swing or bouncy chair is nice to just have a safe place to set baby down. I like the travel ones because they're easier to move to a different room of the house when you need to use it there.

Fisher-Price Healthy Care Deluxe Booster Seat

• High chair/booster: We like our kids to eat meals at the table with us so we bought booster chairs that sit right on a regular chair. The only thing we use our high chair for is when my sister brings her twins over and we need another spot for a baby!

Safety First Grooming kit

• Small first aid/grooming kit: These usually include things like a fingernail clippers, thermometer, brush & comb, etc.

foam baby bath mat

• Bath sponge: With Tyler we were given a baby bath tub and we used it a few times but not too much, usually it just took up space in the bathroom. So for Devon we bought a bath sponge and put that at the bottom of the sink or tub and gave him a bath that way. Or more often than not Devon came in the shower with me and I'd wash him up quick and then hand him out to Aaron. Aaron isn't comfortable holding a wet squirming baby in the shower but I was fine with it and they'd get washed faster that way.

Carter's Onesies

• Clothes: You'll also need a few sleepers and onesies but we don't go overboard with baby clothes because they grow out of them so fast. Yes, they're adorable but I can't justify spending too much when they wear them for only a few weeks!

aden + anais swaddle blankets

• Blankets: We like swaddle blankets from aden + anais. They're big but light and airy for summer. And they also work great if you need a nursing cover, or to cover over a stroller/car seat from the sun.

So obviously I didn't include EVERYTHING you'll need. But this will give you a good place to start. Don't think that you need everything on the baby registry though! The store is just trying to make money, they don't have any idea what people actually use on a day to day basis!


What's the one thing that you thought you HAD to have but found that you didn't use much? Ours was the crib, luckily we borrowed the crib and passed it on after we didn't use it much. Was registering as fun as it was stressful?! There's so much out there that you never know what you'll actually need!

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what you really need for your newborn baby: part 1

With lots of friends and family pregnant or with new little babies I decided to go through a baby registry to see what is really needed. We're "only buy what you really need" kind of people (or at least buy only what you'll really use!) so the over 250 items on the Babies 'R Us registry was way too much for us!

So here's part one on my list of must have's:

Our family bed

• Somewhere for baby to sleep: some people want a crib in baby's room, or a bassinet next to your bed, and others like us set up a safe space in our bed.

Devon and I in Girasol Amitola in Creme Weft size 2

• Baby Carrier(s): A good carrier will make your baby happier and your days easier. My favorites for a newborn would be a ring sling or a wrap. If baby is positioned properly you can use many quality carriers from birth on. It's one of the baby items that I use every single day!

Rearfacing in Evenflo Titan Sports
Tyler (2 1/2 yrs old, 29lb, 36in)
Devon (10 mo old, 18lb, 26in)

• Car Seat: You can use an infant seat or a convertible seat but make sure it's installed properly and your baby fits properly. We used a convertible seat from birth with both boys and it was great. I know some people like the convenience of being able to take the car seat out of the car but our car seat was JUST for the car. We'd carry baby in our arms or in a carrier and they got used to the transfer and would usually fall back asleep if they were already sleeping.

Taking a ride in the Chariot last summer

•Stroller/Bike Trailer: If you plan on carrying your baby a lot you might not need a stroller, otherwise think about what you'll use it for. Do you plan on using it a lot? Or putting the car seat into the stroller? Then you'll need a more substantial stroller. I look for bigger wheels so it pushes over bumps and in the grass easier. Or if you want it for just a quick trip into the store when the baby is a bit older maybe you only need an umbrella stroller. Or yet another option is a combination stroller/bike trailer, like our Chariot. We can hook it up to the bike with one attachment, and then put on front wheels and we have a double stroller. I don't use a stroller much with the kids, usually I'm carrying Devon and Tyler walks or I carry him as well. I know it might seem crazy to carry both kids but it's not too bad really. But Aaron prefers the kids to be in a stroller so he likes the Chariot for both kids or at least our big single stroller for just Devon.

Medela Pump in Style Breast Pump

• Breastfeeding supplies: Breastfeeding IS much cheaper than formula feeding but that doesn't mean it's free! You'll need a few good bras, I like the Bravado Body Silk Nursing Bras. I wear them all the time, some people want more support but they are especially great during the first few weeks and they hold up well to everyday wear! I've also heard that Target carries some pretty decent nursing tanks and bras, although I've never tried them. You'll only need a pump, bottles, storage bags, etc if you are planning on returning to work or being away from your baby for more than a few hours. I know some people need to do this, but the only times I've used my breast pump was for the first few weeks with Tyler when we were having a difficult time and when I had a plugged duct and needed to express extra milk. I've heard really good things about the Medela Pump in Style though I've never used one, I usually just use a Medela hand pump since I need it so infrequently.


What's your favorite/most used baby item? My favorite and most used are our carriers (surprise, surprise!) But equally important is a good, properly installed car seat. What are you most looking forward to purchasing?

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april calendar

As for the previous post, well… take a closer look at the date.

But here's your desktop calendar for the month. Happy April Showers!

***EDIT: Damn, I April Fools'd myself. Wrong dates on the Calendar. I've updated it to be correct now, so make sure you have the calendar that starts on Saturday. Sorry if this causes you to miss work tomorrow. :) ***

big news!

Hey all, Ash's husband Aaron and I've got a big announcement for you…

I've accepted a job offer and will be moving the family to Ontario Canada!!! In a few short weeks I'll be the head marketing manager for Raymond Braun Media Group (RBMG). If you're not familiar, RBMG is the managing group for the one, the only, Justin Bieber. Yes! So as I like to say, for the next several years, we'll be "taking it in the Bieber, eh?"

Also, in light of this news, from now on we'll only be publishing Daisy Pedals in French.

La star de la pop le plus surestimé dans la dernière décennie a provoqué une épidémie massive de fièvre Bieber. Ce genre de comportement doit cesser si nous espérons jamais pour sauver l'industrie musicale. S'il vous plaît arrêter de soutenir ces ordures.

 

 If you enjoyed this post please leave a comment! You can also ‘like’ Daisy Pedals on Facebook or subscribe by email or an rss reader in the sidebar.