I love Lady Bugs and apparently so does Suri Cruise! Oprah recently visited Tom Cruise at his home. She picked up a pair of lady bug shoes in his mud room and mentioned how adorable they were. Cruise replied that “ladybugs are Suri’s favorites”. Those shoes, just like the ones pictured, were none other than the Little Ladies Mary Janes from Skimbaco. They are from the Monkey Toes line of handpainted shoes. They have many styles to choose from, including shoes painted with buzzy bees, pink pigs, or cute little love bugs. For your little man, order sneakers with green frogs, silly monkeys or spunky spiders.

Skimbaco is run by a mom of three who has worked very hard to build a wonderful store. She personally packed the shoes that were sent to Suri when a family friend ordered them as a christmas gift. What luck to have one of her items featured on Oprah! Just goes to show that hard work will pay off!

Babies R Us is currently allowing customers to exchange bottles containing BPA. Recent studies suggest that BPA may be harmful but its effects on humans are still unclear. If you would like to participate, make sure your bottles have all the pieces and parts. Babies R Us will give you store credit for the current selling price. The bottles can be new or used and did not have to be purchased at Babies R US (meaning you don’t need a receipt). I couldn’t find any information on the Babies R Us website so I don’t know how long they are going to do the exchange but I know that it is real because I exchanged my bottles today. Call your local store to see if they are participating and how long the exchange program will last.

Get rid of all those monsters hiding under the bed and in closets once and for all with Monster Go Away Spray. Go on over to Pink With Sparkles to win your own bottle. I’m definitely entering. My son is moving into his big boy bed this weekend. He has a very active imagination so I’m sure we’re going to need it!

Keep track of your kids belonging’s with these colorful vinyl labels from Tickle Bellies. Their vinyl labels are very durable and can withstand alot of abuse so put them on your Kids toys, books, lunch boxes, and bags, or anything else with a smooth surface. They are even dishwasher safe so you can use them on bottles, sippy cups, and food containers. I wish I had known about these labels when my son was in daycare. Every bottle and bottle cap had to be labeled with my son’s name and we spent so much time removing the tape before washing and then relabeling the clean bottles. These labels would have saved us so much time!

The labels are available in so many bright and adorable designs including a cute ladybug to a funny little robot and they come in two shapes, rectangle and round. You can personalize them with you child’s name and even add a phone number or address, if you want. Don’t forget to order some for yourself to label your dishes and serving pieces to take to all those summer potluck dinners!

Now that the summer season has started, it’s time to hit the pools and beaches! But don’t forget to protect yourself and your little ones from the sun’s harmful effects. We love Blue Lizard Australian Sunscreen! I first learned about Blue Lizard Australian Sunscreen when my son’s pediatrician recommended it. It is a broad spectrum sunscreen with a SPF 30, meaning that it blocks 98% of the harmful effects of both UVA and UVB rays. Best of all, it’s non-toxic and safe for sensitive skin, making it a great choice for babies and children. Blue Lizard Australian Sunscreen is packaged in “Smart Bottles” that turn colors when exposed to UV light so you’ll always know when you need to apply sunscreen (like those cloudy days when you might not think you need any sunscreen). Blue Lizard Australian sunscreen is recommended for ages 6 months and up. Lather up 20 minutes before going outside and don’t forget to reapply often!

Keep you car clean with a car litter bag by Allyson Hill. She designed the bags to hold/hide your small garbage and look great, too! The bags are 8″ wide by 12″ high and are made of two layers, a decorative fabric outer layer and an inner canvas layer. The canvas provides support for the bag and is designed to keep the bag open so you can easily get your trash in. The bags are available in a large number of fabrics that everyone will love. Put one up front for you and choose one in a kid-friendly fabric for your kids (I think I’ll order one in the construction fabric for my son - he loves anything with wheels).

The strap is truly unique. It can be snapped on the side to hang on your stick shift or in the center to hang from the back of your head rest. The length of the strap (25″) is also adjustable so it will always fit perfectly.

My favorite part of this bag is that no one will know right away that it is a trash bag. Just Insert a plastic trash bag inside and tuck the extra between the inner and outer shells so nobody will ever see the ugly trash bag. Allyson includes a roll of biodegradable bags with each purchase and you can purchase refills from pet stores or infant stores or just use a plastic shopping bag.

I love Mom-owned stores and one of my favorites, Mountain Aven Baby, makes some of the most adorable clothes for little ones! There are so many choices for boys or girls that everyone is sure to find something they love. Our favorites are the lounge sets which include comfortable pants and a matching tee shirt. They are too cute to be just sleep wear, you’ll want your little one to wear them all the time to show them off. In addition to the lounge sets, they make other items including bibs, blankets and jumpers with matching bloomers.

All of the items at Mountain Aven Baby are hand made with so much attention to detail.The appliqués are sewn on with a zig zag stich for durability and detail and the fabrics are colorful and fun. And if you don’t see exactly what you are looking for, Mountain Aven Baby is happy to custom make an item for you. Be sure to hop over and check out what they are offering.

Your driving down the road and you want to keep an eye on your little one in the back seat. It’s impossible to see your rear facing baby but there are so many good mirrors on the market that not only allow you to see your baby through your rear view mirror but also entertain him. But what about your forward facing baby?

I just went on my first long road trip alone with my son and realized that even though he is forward facing it was so hard to see him without turning around and taking my eyes off the road. There are not many mirrors that can be used to see your forward facing child and the ones that I found were either too small or really blurry and not very useful. But here’s a tip…tilt your rear view mirror to the night setting. You’ll easily be able to look up and clearly see your baby in the back seat and still see the cars behind you. Your child will love it too because he can make eye contact with you while you’re driving.

Looking for a great gift for baby’s big brother or sister? How ’bout a fun Big Bro or Big Sis tee shirt. I searched long and hard for a Big Bro shirt for my nephew and found the perfect tee at EM Tanner Designs. Her designs are modern and funky, perfect for any proud big sibling.

I purchased the Big bro shirt in green for my nephew (his favorite color). He was so proud of his shirt (and new brother, too) that he refused to take it off for three days! The shirts are available in many colors, including chocolate with pink or blue (so trendy). Don’t forget to order a matching Lil Bro/Lil Sis shirt or onsie for the new baby, too.