My Favorite Things '08

Okay, well apparently Oprah did her "favorite things" show last week...and I totally missed it. But, I decided I would still share a few my favorite things that I've found this year...like I did last year at this time. Because I spent a good majority of 2008 being pregnant, quite a few of them are maternity & baby items. Here they are...

First of all, Bella Bands. Love, love, LOVE them!!! Those of you that know me know what a hard time I have finding jeans that actually fit me. As you can imagine, this problem is EXTREMELY hard when I'm shopping for maternity pants. (Do they think my legs are pregnant or something???) So, when I was introduced to Bella Bands...I fell in love. Bella bands are just a tight fitting band that you wear around your waist...it just looks like you have a tank underneath your shirt...this way, you can wear your non-pregnancy jeans (unbuttoned) through a good majority of your pregnancy & no one can tell they are unbuttoned...plus, the band helps keep your pants up, so you're not always yanking on them! It's awesome! I was able to wear my normal jeans until about week 30 in my pregnancy. At that point, my expanding thighs & butt (YAY!) would not fit into my skinny jeans anymore, so I had to switch to maternity jeans. But, I kept wearing my Bella Bands because they would help hold the maternity pants up. It was so nice not to always have to be yanking them up! I continued to use my Bella Bands even after Cohen was born. I squeezed back into the skinny jeans & just left them unbuttoned with a Bella Band over the top for several months. Anyway, as you can probably tell, I flippin' LOVE them! They were the best things I bought during my pregnancy & I recommend them to pretty much every pregnant girl I meet! I bought mine at Expected (on Fort Union just off I-215)...which is a good segway because...

Expected is the next thing on my favorite things list! I bought sooooooooo many cute maternity outfits here! It is this cute little boutique full of THE CUTEST maternity clothes you have EVER seen in your whole life! You name it, they have it...cute print T's, T's that have funny little pregnancy sayings on them, darling dresses, shirts, suits, etc. And, they even have designer maternity jeans too! YAY! If you're a fan of Citizens of Humanity, Paige, 7, Hudson, etc...this is the place to buy your maternity jeans! Anyway, I love this store...this pregnancy was the only pregnancy where I actually felt CUTE. Believe it or not, I was kind of sad to pack my maternity clothes away! Weird, I know... Oh, and there's one more store that is on my list as well for maternity clothes...

Ann Taylor & Ann Taylor Loft are probably two of my favorite stores on the planet. So, you can imagine my joy when I found out Loft was going to start selling maternity clothes. HALLELUJAH!!! (By the way, don't judge them by the picture I've posted. Most their maternity clothes are MUCH cuter than that thing, but it's the only pic I could find.) It is SOOOOOO hard to find clothes for on-air while I am pregnant! They don't make many maternity suits & if they do, they are usually way bulky & gross. (Are my shoulders supposed to grow while I'm pregnant?) Anyway, I was able to find so many suits, professional shirts & cute dresses at Loft Maternity. The only problem is that the two Loft stores that we have here in SLC don't sell the maternity clothes! What's up with that??? We are the top baby-making state in this nation!!! Anyway, the closest Loft Maternity is in Las Vegas...but, I just ordered all mine online! If you know what size you wear at Ann Taylor or Loft, you just order that same size in maternity & it will fit like a glove...guaranteed!

My next favorite thing is the stroller that we bought right before Cohen was born. It's made by Joovy and is a TRIPLE stroller! That's right...a stroller for THREE children!!! Can't tell, can you? Cohen goes in the front (the tray that is at the front comes out and is replaced with a bar that holds an infant car seat for right now), Aiden sits on the little seat in the back facing backwards, and Connor stands on the little platform thing in the back & leans back against that black elastic thing you see near the top of the handle. It is AWESOME! It is super easy to maneuver...even with all the kids on it...it turns on a dime & is light as a feather! I love that I can push all my kids around & that I don't have to have a HUGE stroller to do it! Plus, it's stinkin' cute! People stop me all the time to ask me where I got it (USA Baby)!

Okay, I know I'm a little behind the times on this one...but I just bought a Swiffer Duster & I absolutely ADORE it! I actually look forward to dusting my house now! I don't know why...but something about it just makes dusting a whole lot of fun! And, yes, I already know how lame it is that I get excited to dust my house!Okay, the next thing on my list is the Pampered Chef smooth-edge can opener. LOVE IT! It actually breaks the seal of your cans to get the lid off, rather than cutting them & leaving a sharp edge behind. I can't tell you how many times I have opened a can of olives, only to have my kids stick their fingers in the can to grab one & cut themselves in the process. With this can opener, I don't have to worry about that anymore...plus, I don't have to worry about digging a dusty lid out of my food. It's awesome!

Okay, this next stuff is the coolest thing on the planet! It's Dr. Katz TheraBreath toothpaste & mouthwash. I am always so self-conscious of my breath, so when I saw this stuff on "Good Things Utah" (yes, I'm a traitor and watch other networks from time-to-time), I knew I had to try it! The dentist was on the show with a breathalyzer thing that measured the sulfur-bacteria (the stuff that causes bad breath) coming out of a person's mouth. He ate an onion and blew into the breathalyzer and the number registered over 1000 (anything over 100 means bad breath), then he swished his mouthwash stuff in his mouth for about 30 seconds & blew again...this time it registered 28. I have to admit, at first I was a little leery...but I decided I would buy the stuff & try it out for myself. At first, it was a little bizarre for me...both the toothpaste & the mouthwash had NO taste to them (no mint, no cinnamon, etc.)...and they got all foamy really fast. Plus, I didn't like the fact that I wasn't supposed to eat or drink anything for 15 minutes afterwards. What's up with that?!? But, I have to tell you that THE STUFF WORKS! I NEVER have bad breath! It rocks! If I eat something at work for Sunday Brunch that has onions or garlic in it, I just swish some mouthwash around for about a minute & then head straight off to church...fresh breath & all. You'd never know I had just had a big bite of onion a half hour earlier! It's awesome! And, my kids REALLY like the toothpaste because it doesn't have a strong taste like many of the other toothpastes out there. Anyway, I just love it!

So, those are my favorite things for 2008! I love, love, love them! Sorry for the infomercial, but I just wanted to share my favorites! --Lindsay