The Mom Crowd

This is my first year with a little one and I absolutely could not wait to show her off this Christmas season. What better way to show off the unimaginable cuteness of my daughter than to showcase her beautiful smile on this year’s Christmas card?

I was delighted to find Moon and Back Studio’s unique, sophisticated, and stylish holiday card collection. There are many options available to suit anyone’s taste. The Christmas cards include your own photos that you upload on the site. Taking your own photo or using a favorite photo that you have already taken gives you enormous creative control to create the perfect card. I picked the “retro ornament” card design first, before taking Ace’s photo. Then I kept the card design in mind as I was photographing Ace in the backyard. The result is that I have a fabulous Christmas card that will be the star on every mantle.

The best part of Moon and Back Studios is that the price of the card includes photo enhancement. You can choose from four different photo enhancement options: vivid color, classic black and white, retro sepia, and designer’s choice. I chose “designer’s choice,” because my untrained eye would not know what is best. The photo I chose did not have the best lighting, but it was the one with the best smile. I sent the photo, hoping that it could be corrected. I could not be happier with the enhancements. They made my very-amateur photo, look like a professional photo.

Here is the photo before enhancements:

Here is the same photo after enhancements:

Many of the Christmas cards also have the option of using the sample’s color scheme or matching the color scheme to the photo. They will also crop the photo for the best fit on the card. It was certainly nice to have someone do that for me, instead of spending the time to think about the cropping and positioning.

Once you have customized your card and purchased your order, they will send you an electronic copy of your card to proof. I received my proof the next day. I only had one minor spelling correction to make and they were shipped out the very next day! I received my package the day after it was shipped. There is only one shipping option at checkout, but the shipping was incredibly fast. Myra at Moon and Back Studios was very prompt and courteous with my order.

I have been showing my new Christmas card to my friends and several of them have suggested that I frame my card! I know that my family and friends will love the Christmas card of our little one when it arrives in their mailbox. I am extremely delighted with my Christmas card from Moon and Back Studios.

Moon and Back Studios is offering The Mom Crowd readers a 10% discount with the promotional code: momcrowd07

Here is my awesome Christmas card:

This Saturday my family will be traveling to the Philippines for an 11-day trip. It will take us 40 hours to get there, including 3 flights (one leg is 15 hours) and a 10-hour layover in Hong Kong.

When we go into Hong Kong I am planning on using my Moby Wrap and a messenger bag as my diaper bag so I can be hands free.

I know I should feed on the way up and on the way down. We did get a seat just for her and will be using her car seat. We got a car seat stroller frame to carry the car seat through the airport. Also, I am still breastfeeding, so I won’t be carrying any bottles or formula. I will be bringing my very discreet nursing cover!

I am also planning on bringing several sets of earplugs to pass out to my flying neighbors just in case. Hopefully they will appreciate the sentiment.

Do any of you have experience flying with a baby or handling baby jet lag? Do you have any tips or tricks?

I found this helpful packing checklist and travel tips at babycenter.com:

Packing Checklist

_ Diapers – One for each hour you’ll be in transit, plus extras in case of delays
_ Pad to put under your baby during diaper changes – You can buy disposable changing pads at supermarkets or reusable ones at baby stores
_ Blankets – Bring a few — you’ll use them to lay your baby on, cover her, cover yourself if you’re nursing, protect your clothes from messy burps, shade your baby, and more
_ Plastic bags – Carry a variety of sizes for storing soiled diapers, clothes, and blankets
_ Diaper rash cream
_ Wipes
_ Small bottles of disinfecting hand gel, baby wash, and baby lotion
_ Tissues
_ Extra pacifiers (if your baby uses one)
_ A few of your baby’s favorite toys
_ Clothes, socks, and booties or shoes – One to two outfits per day is a good guideline
_ Washable bibs
_ Sun hat
_ Lightweight plastic feeding set with utensils, and baby food – If your baby’s eating solid foods
_ Formula, water, and juice if appropriate
_ Extra bottles, nipples, and sippy cups if appropriate
_ Energy-boosting snacks for you to munch on
_ Breast pump (if you use one)
_ Nightlight – So you can keep the room lighting soothingly low during middle-of-the-night diaper changes
_ First-aid kit – Baby pain reliever and supplies for treating minor injuries
_ Sling or front carrier – Lightweight, hands-free way to keep your baby close in crowded places like airports
_ Portable crib or play yard – A safe place for your baby to sleep or play
_ Inflatable baby bathtub – Can make bath time easier at your destination
_ Car seat for safer travel by car or plane
_ Collapsible stroller – Can be gate-checked or stored in the overhead bin of an airplane

Packing Tips

• Start preparing to pack a few days before you travel. Keep a running list of things to take, or put items out on a table or dresser as you think of them.
• Use a diaper bag with a waterproof lining and a shoulder strap.
• Pack an extra shirt for yourself in your carry-on bag.
• Prevent leaks by packing medicines and toiletries in resealable plastic bags.
• Keep your baby’s outfits together in one suitcase so you can find them easily.
• Take your camera — and don’t forget the battery charger if it’s digital, or plenty of film if not.
• Take a clip-on reading light so you can read without disturbing your baby.

Bonus

Diaper Change in the Sky Video

Air Travel with Baby Video

Check out this collection of Scared of Santa photos at the Sun-Sentinal.com. Not all kids are happy to tell Santa what they want. Some of those photos are scary and hilarious at the same time!

I seriously love del.icio.us and I use it all the time. Del.icio.us is an easy way to bookmark all your favorite webpages online in one place. Sometimes I come across a site or a webpage that I will want to come back to later, so I will tag the page. You can tag pages when you are shopping online, researching a topic or a vacation, or saving cool recipes.

Del.icio.us works by integrating two buttons into your web browser. Don’t worry, installation is easy! I promise. One button is your “My del.icio.us” button that displays all your tagged webpages. The second button is the “Tag this” button that you click when you want to tag the webpage you are displaying. Using del.icio.us is cool, because it takes two seconds to tag a webpage after you have installed the buttons.

Bookmarking online is better than using your web browser’s book marking system, because you can bookmark all you want and it won’t fill up that menu window. I currently have 190 webpages bookmarked; that would be a really long menu window! Also, you can easily make notes, change the title of the bookmark, and specify tag categories.

Your homepage with all your tagged sites go with you wherever you go. They are always online. If you are at a friend’s house and you want to show them that really cool purse you were considering buying on Etsy, you could have bookmarked the page, and open the link from your del.icio.us account.

Setting up del.icio.us is incredibly easy. One of the things I really like about del.icio.us is that all their instructions are simple to follow.

The first step is to register with del.icio.us. After you fill out the six blanks on the registration form, you will then be instructed to install your two del.icio.us buttons. You will have to re-start your web browser after they are installed. Then, you can start using the buttons and saving the links to all your favorite sites.

Take a few minutes and set up del.icio.us. You will be glad that you did!

Del.icio.us homepage
Register
Installing into Internet Explorer
Installing into Firefox
A Guide to Saving Bookmarks