Win It! EquityLock Protector

A long time ago, before we were married, Dan owned our house as a bachelor.  He chose our appliances with the help of Consumer Report guides, and picked out models that shined, blinked, and had fancy LED screens.  Shortly after I moved in, it seemed our curse began - first the washer, then the dishwasher then issues with the treadmill, the grill, the laptop and the fridge filter.  It became apparent that although Dan's choices were well researched, they did not stand the test of time, and he (unfortunately) did not have a backup plan.  He left the sales associates high and dry with their extended warranties unpurchased.

More recently, we do try to purchase extended warranties but what about the items already in our home?  Our original built in microwave and oven are used so frequently that it's almost inevitable that they'll go sooner or later.  That's where the EquityLock Protector plan would be an absolute life saver!

EquityLock Protector insures your six major home appliances - washer, dryer, refrigerator, built-in microwave, dishwasher, and range/oven.  If one of these items malfunctions, EquityLock will cover a repair or replacement of up to $1.500 per appliance per 12-month period. Typically, homeowner insurance policies don't offer help when your appliances break down. With the EquityLock Protector plan, you'll safeguard up to $50,000 of the value of your property and ensure your six most essential appliances are protected.



I'm excited to be partnering with EquityLock to bring our readers an opportunity to win
• 6 months of EquityLock Protector (usually $79.95 a month, that’s over $470 in total value) FREE
• $15 EquityLock Home Improvement Cash (cash card to use at all good home improvement stores) FREE



No credit card information is required - just the contact information of the winner in order to ship your prize.  Complete the Rafflecopter Form below!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tell us your appliance woes!  Our personal worst was three weeks without a washer because of a breakdown.  Thank goodness we were baby free at the time because we would have been buried in the piles if something like that happened now!

EquityLock Protector has provided me with a free trial of their program in exchange for my post,  and EquityLock Protector has supplied information and materials included in this post.

Bringing Baby to the Beach

Update: We just posted another great tip sheet - Five Tips for Fabulous Beach Pictures!  Be sure to check it out here!

Our annual trip to Myrtle Beach is still almost two months away, but I visit very regularly in my day dreams. On our first trip with the babies, I felt like there was little advice out there for new moms taking babies to the beach and thought I'd share some things that worked for us!  Check our our top ten list of tips for taking babies to the beach!  Hopefully we made it in time for your summer vacation. :-)

1 - Consider an "Off Season" Vacation  This September will mark our third year of visiting Myrtle Beach during a time when most families have packed up and headed home.  For us, this offers weather that is much more mild (typically low 80s) and fewer beach neighbors crowding your style.  An added benefit is that prices typically dive after Labor Day, allowing us to score a much larger place in a prime location that would be out of our budget in other summer months.

2 - Stay Close to the Water Save yourself the grief and stay "oceanfront" if at all possible.  Babies are so unpredictable and frequent trips back to your home away from home are unavoidable.  We loved being able to see our beach spot from the balcony, and run up (for the millionth time) for the items we inevitably forgot on the first trip down.

3 - Find your Shade  For our first trip with the babies we brought along a dark colored EZup (generic version) which provided excellent shade.  It was large enough for our four adults and two babies and was easy to set up with two people.  I really recommend buying extra long stakes for the sand - in the range of 10-12 inches.  An alternative would be a small "personal tent" for baby but be cautious to make sure your aware of potential risks and recalls for popular brands of such tents.

4 - A Comfy Spot for Baby We brought along a "Neat Sheet" to cover the sand where the babies would relax, and staked it with the stakes that originally came with the EZup.  For anyone who doesn't know, a "Neat Sheet "is also known as a "ground cover" and is basically a tarp with a cloth backing.  They're pretty waterproof, washable and comfortable for lounging around.  We pulled the corners tight for the stakes so they wouldn't bunch, and it provided a great sand-free surface for the babies to play on.

We also had the luxury of owning the Big Kahuna Beach Chairs by Rio that lay all the way flat.  These created mini cots on which our babies napped daily.  I guess the sound of the real ocean was just as soothing as the ocean sounds in their Sleep Sheep!

5 - Bring Everything You Need for the Afternoon  Click Here to see our Beach Baby Checklist of all the things you'll want to have in your Beach Bag!

6 - Use a Spray Bottle for Sandy Binkies Our twins adore their pacifiers - especially while napping oceanfront.  But those binkies (without exception) found their way into a sandy pile and mixed with moisture cling to the plastic.  GROSS!  Our solution was a simple spray bottle of water.  Just a few squirts and all the sand blew away.  Make sure you get one with a little power (even the ones in the travel section of target or walmart will do) and they'll work magic on those sand covered binks!

7 - Corn Starch Keeps you Sand Free Bring along a sprinkle of corn starch (baby powder works also) to keep feet and hands sand free.  By absorbing the skin's moisture, sand will slide right off keeping everybody clean and happy.

8 - Don't forget the Sun Screen While I am not a sunscreen expert, I do make absolutely sure my kids are covered from top to bottom for any exposed skin.  Our regular pick is Coppertone Kids Spray because I feel like it gives us quick, even coverage without having to hold kids down to rub it in.  If you need more information on the importance of Sun Protection, download Coppertone's printable guide here.  And for Moms concerned about chemicals, Safemama offers a great guide there as well!  Remember that just one severe burn increases your little one's risk of cancer later in life - so sunscreen is mission critical!

9 - Bring Extra Diapers Maybe one of my girl friends should have told me - but I was SHOCKED to realize that Swim Diapers were for "poop only."  For a day of lounging beach side, babies are more comfortable in regular diapers.  Otherwise, you'll be surprised when that baby who has yet to touch water for the day leaves a wet imprint on your cover up!  Trust me when I say, save the swim diapers for the pool.

10 - Get in front of the Camera After reading Allison Tate's article last year about the importance of mom's capturing the fun they have with their kids, I was inspired to hand my hubby the camera and let him shoot away as I played with my babies in the surf.  Now I'm not a swimsuit model of any kind, but I never regret having the images to remember how much fun we all had together.  I look back at my own expressions of joy, watching my sweet babies explore one of my favorite places - where the water meets the land.

Looking for another great post about the beach?  Check out our Five Tips for Fabulous Beach Pictures!

Blogger Inspiration

As you may have noticed, I've been writing a lot more lately!  I was so lucky to have been invited to an incredible "Lunch and Learn" event last week and it reignited my passion!  Hosted by Heather of Diary of a First Time Mom and The Motherhood, it felt so fabulous to escape from "the toddler zone" and have a grown up afternoon.

I was so incredibly impressed with the bloggers who were brought together for this afternoon of learning and fun,  We enjoyed a lovely lunch, and met together to share our writing experiences.  I was so humbled to realize that many of these women have been blogging for years, have made true life changing impacts on their readers, have made incredible partnerships, and many write every.single.day.

And while I felt like the blogging baby in the room, I remind myself that "a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."  I hope you'll follow along as I begin my steps - day by day to bring My Tales with Two to a level that will bring you coming back for more!  I can't guarantee daily posts quite yet, but I can promise things will be much more regular around here!

Check out Heather's post at Diary of a First Time Mom to find out more about all of the amazing Pittsburgh Bloggers that were brought together, and see pictures from the event!

What topics would you like to see My Tales with Two cover?  Do you have a motherhood or twin challenge your curious how we managed?  I'd love to hear your ideas!


And as always, we hope you'll consider voting for us at Top Baby Blogs linked below!
  

Beach Baby Checklist

I am SO excited to be working on some tips we learned last year when taking babies to the beach for the first time. Don't forget to checkout our 10 tips to bringing baby to the beach post here! Beach Baby Checklist of all of the things to pack into your beach bag when toting infants or toddlers down to the ocean!

Here are some must haves, as well as some of our personal favorites when heading to the beach with babies!

• Beach Bag:  We'd recommend something large enough to include all of your junk, but ideally would have a zipper to keep sandy breezes from coating your gear.  A favorite is the Super Organizing Tote from Thirty One Gifts!  With lots of pockets and a zipper, it's got all of the requirements for a perfect bag and comes in cute colors!
• Towels (one per person)
  
• Beach Chairs (one per adult): We love our Big Kahuna Beach Chairs by RIO which can lay flat to accommodate a sleeping baby!
  
• Neat Sheet or Blanket to provide a clean surface
  
• Sunscreen: Kid friendly spray's keep little wigglers sun safe without the struggle
  
• Sun Glasses: We adore Baby Banz for sunglasses that stay on and protect little eyes. It did take some convincing for the babies to keep them on, but now they love them!
  
• Small Cooler: For milk, or juice during hot days (and maybe your diet coke or beer).  Choose resealable containers to prevent spills and keep sand out of beverages.  Freeze a bottle of water to use as an ice pack, which doubles as an extra drink when it melts!
• Food: Kid friendly snacks like cool "squish pouches", cut fruit, cereal, cheese or any other favorites!
  
• Baby Hat
  
• Swim Diapers and Regular Diapers
  
• Change of Clothes for Baby
  
• Ziplock Bag: For wet clothes
• Plastic Grocery Bag: For dirty diapers and trash
• Pacifiers for Nap and Spray Bottle with Water
  
• Light Blanket for keeping sand away during naps.  We like Aden and Anis's muslin swaddle blankets which we use for everything!  They're large and light and perfect for summer. 
• Corn Starch or Baby Powder
• Sand Toys: Our kids favorites were a simple sand bucket, shovel, rake and molds.  At only 9 months, they weren't able to use them in the traditional fashion but enjoyed moving the sand around with the tools and dumping it out of the molds.
• Flotation Device or Baby Intertube if desired for pool
• Book or Magazine for Mom
• Camera to capture those special memories

Is there anything I've missed?  Comment with your Beach Baby must haves and I'll add them to our list!

Click here to read our full post of 10 tips for bringing baby to the beach!

Please take a second to vote for us using the link below!

A Mama Uniform

I'm ready to throw in the towel and go naked.  Well - not really, because that would be inappropriate, but I'm throwing my hands up in surrender as the fashion gods clearly hate me.

While I was never a "fashionista" and was proud to shop the clearance racks through middle and high school, I found favorite stores in college and in my early career that kept my wardrobe on track.  The now defunct B. Moss offered classic, quality styles that were more "grown up" than teen clothes but weren't things my mother's generation would wear.  Deeper into my career I fell in love with the quality pants of Ann Taylor, upscale casual of Banana Republic and the reliable standby's of Gap.

Pregnancy brought the maternity clothes, to which my response was kinda "eh - no one looks good pregnant" but secretly I loved the excuse to wear comfy clothes and not worry about my belly "pouch."  Two babies was a great reason to let it all hang out!

My struggle with my wardrobe really began when the babies were born, and here we are 18 months later, still facing an uphill battle.

After delivery, I was down 20 lbs from my pre-pregnancy weight coming home from the hospital, and lost another ten breastfeeding.  Although my body had changed with my weight distribution, my shorts could still zipper and my tops fit fine.  A new fashion plague was upon me - reflux.  Brayden threw up so often (leaving oily stains in his path) that I could barely justify new clothes and stocked my closet full of solid colored crew necks from Kohl's.  Along with yoga pants, these became staples of my new Mommy Uniform, and remain my most commonly worn outfit to this day.  I even joke with my friends that my style is Yoga Homeless, as explained in The Naked Redhead's fabulous video.

But there's so many days I now want more.  Joining Dan for his ten year reunion, I became so frustrated with my lack of appropriate attire that I spent a whole evening crying.  The pounds had crept back on since I put away my  breast pump, and my "real clothes" were again hard to button and I certainly didn't look good in them.

I have the best husband in the world, who has blessed me with the command to "get out there and shop" - no limits, do whatever I need to do to feel better.  I started with a subscription to weight watchers, and now 15 pounds lighter, I'm sitting comfortably in new eating habits and more comfortably fitting clothes.

But the problem remains that Ann Taylor is no longer appropriate for my day to day, but Yoga Homeless is not cutting it either.  I'm ashamed to say it, but I have a terrible fashion secret that I need to "get off my chest" (literally).

I am still wearing my nursing bras - 17 months after my kids failed to nurse.

Yep, you'll have to bust out the magnifying glass to read that one.  Seriously though, I wish Stacy and Clinton from What Not to Wear could sweep me off my feet and into some magical dressing room with piles of clothes that fit and look good.

My sad reality though is that after spending a whole day looking at stores in Grove City, and a good hour of shopping at TJ Maxx, I couldn't find a single garment that interested me.  It's that rough spot where you have no idea what you're looking for, but lots of ideas what you're not looking for.  So how about you?  Where are your favorite "mom friendly" places to shop for casual yet fashion forward clothes?  Somebody's got to fill this girl in!