Nanny to Mommy

Ringing in the New Year is totally different for us now that we have kids. But that doesn't mean that it can't be fun. The countdown is on with a tradition we started last year. And I'm so excited because this year we will be joining some of our friends and their kiddos to celebrate the end of this crazy year!

This year, the most famous 10 seconds of the year are back on Netflix with 10 new countdowns based on some of your kids’ favorite shows: Word Party, Puffin Rock, Luna Petunia, Beat Bugs, All Hail King Julien, Skylanders Academy, DreamWorks Trollhunters, Project Mc2, Fuller House, and Chasing Cameron. Start your party anytime, anywhere by searching New Year’s Eve Countdown on Netflix.

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Welcome to our Annual Holiday Gift Guide!

We are gearing up for our this year's and looking for sponsors. If you would like to participate, please contact Diana.n.chastain@gmail.com. Looking for ideas for babies, toddlers, preschooler, kids, parents, spouses/significant others, grandparents, adults, etc! Including stocking stuffers!

If you would like to see our review policy, stats, etc., please feel free to check out our media kit. Here is an example of our 2015 Holiday Gift Guide and 2016 Baby Shower Gift Guide. Thanks!

Do you have any Christmas Eve Traditions? I have put together a little basket that I have been wanting to do for years, but never seemed to get around to it. But this year I finally got it all together and you get to see what is in our Christmas Eve Basket.

Since we do my mother-in-law's side on Christmas Eve now, I'm giving my kiddos their Christmas Eve basket early.

I love subscription boxes. I love discovering new products to try and it is a great way to do just that while not breaking the bank. I especially love THEMED boxes!

I don't know about you, but I am all about some FREE stuff! Who doesn't like a good freebie, especially when it's something that you will use? I have put a little list together of all the sites where I have found some GREAT freebies that really take minimal effort on your part. So check them out:



I would like to note, the work bloggers do is just that "work". It has helped my family in amazing ways and I am so glad I started doing it, but it is a LOT of work. If you are interested in starting your own blog (because you are willing to put in the work), please let me know and I will get a post together to help you learn how.

Now on to the sites:

My son is adjusting to his new bedroom and I have decided to get him some kind of light to go in his room because it is very dark right now. He also has almost zero décor in his room. It's because we really didn't have a decorated nursery for him like we did for our daughter. I am terrible and never got around to it. BUT we have decided to a chic Star Wars theme for his new room.

I have known about 3DLIGHTFX 3D Deco Lights for a while now and since we have just now decided on a theme for his room, what better time to get him one of these! 3DLIGHTFX 3D Deco Lights are the perfect gift this holiday season. They have a full range of comic book, super hero, Disney Princess, sports and car lights that look as though they are popping right out of the wall. We chose the Darth Vader light because our son loves him.

It's hard to buy gifts for grandma and grandpa. What do you buy for someone who has everything or limited space?

GrandBox is the original monthly subscription box customized and curated specifically for seniors 65 and up. Every month, the GrandBox team creates a new theme to build each box around. Every theme and product is meant to bring joy to your loved one. From Route 66 to Back-to-School to A Day at the Spa, they make sure that each box will be a delightful surprise. Their team has the experience and knowledge to know what grandparents will love. It's the perfect gift to bring a smile to the older loved ones in your life and have them talking about their GrandBox for days.

You can sign up for one (or both) subscriptions to follow Sam and Sofia on their exciting adventures around the USA and the world. Inspire a love and understanding of the world as your child learns about geography, history, culture, and language in a fun and memorable way. Watch as your children race to the mailbox every month to learn about Sam and Sofia’s latest destinations. Monthly packages arrive filled with lots of goodies and access to online games and activities.

Who doesn't love decorating for the holidays? For so many years I would get Christmas decorations as gifts because, seriously, that's all I wanted and I love them so much! This year we are in a new home so it was a chance to change things up. I decided to grab some new décor inside and we were excited to finally have the opportunity to decorate outside!

Most of the décor we bought on our own. But I did have the opportunity to work with a few brands this for my Holiday Gift Guide. And I'm very excited to share them with you.

Hammacher Schlemmer has unique gifts for everyone on your shopping list. I was so excited when I received the opportunity to include them in my Holiday Gift Guide. I was asked to pick an item from their HUGE selection for products. There were so many things I liked. Last year I chose The Award Winning Dump Truck, but this year I decided to get something for the hubby and I. So I picked the Ultra Slim Wine Refrigerator.

The Ultra Slim Wine Refrigerator is a dual-temperature wine refrigerator that secures 18 bottles yet measures less than 10"-wide. Ideal for narrow spaces—such as the end of an apartment’s buffet or island—while providing the convenience of a fully stocked kitchen cellar, it stores Bordeaux-sized bottles with seven chrome shelves that pull out easily for readjustment when storing larger bottles from other appellations. A built-in shelf supports upright and preserved wines.

If you have kids, chances are you know the importance of owning a great stroller. Whether it's for trips to the park, shopping at the mall, or a Disney vacation, you'll want a stroller that's easy to maneuver, is comfortable, and has lots of storage space. Amber at Viva Veltoro recently got to review the Joovy TwinGroove Ultralight and she fell in love with all of these characteristics and more. We've teamed up with some of our favorite bloggers to offer YOU a choice between the Joovy Groove Ultralight or TwinGroove Ultralight-AND you get to pick the in-stock color!

Here's some info about the Groove Ultralight 2017 and the TwinGroove Ultralight from the Joovy website:

Still looking for the perfect gift for your toddler or preschooler? Look no further because we have the perfect idea for you - the Joovy Bicycoo Balance Bike! Amber at Viva Veltoro recently had the opportunity to review a Bicycoo for her daughter and she absolutely loves it. We've teamed up with some of our favorite bloggers to give one of YOU a Joovy Bicycoo for that special kiddo in your life!

Here is some information about the Bicycoo Balance Bike from Joovy's site:

If you are like me, then you are fortunate enough to not have to drive anywhere on Christmas Day. Forever growing up we had to run around and we never got enjoy the day. So I made the decision for my family that I would change some traditions for them to create our new ones. We wake up early, open presents, I make breakfast, and then we enjoy each other's company all day long with Christmas movies on in the back ground.

Here are some movies to help you binge watch your way through Christmas. Also don't forget Netflix Gift Cards make a great gift or stocking stuffer idea!

When my daughter was born, I didn't realize how truly lucky I was. She did have skin issues, but only if we used a laundry detergent besides the one we had been using all along. When my son came along, I thought he might be about the same, but boy was I wrong. He broke out from different diapers, wipes, laundry detergents, and even certain foods I ate. He was never diagnosed officially with having eczema, but he a lot of the same symptoms.


I am one of those people who baby wipes for everything. Of course during diaper changes, but also meal time clean ups, carpet spot cleans, everything. Baby wipes are great to clean up life's little messes. With a baby (now toddler) like mine who has a tendency to break out with certain products, I like to stick to products with the least amount of chemicals as possible. WaterWipes is a harsh chemical free baby wipe that contains only two ingredients, 99.9% pure Irish water and 0.1% grapefruit seed extract.

The cooler weather has arrived and families are gearing up for holiday travel. Kim from Thrifty Nifty Mommy recently shared her review of the award winning Diono Radian RXT Convertible + Booster Car Seat. While it is common for parents to complain about the weight of car seats, one can agree that their child's safety is the #1 factor in choosing a seat. Yes, carrying around a 20lb. child inside of a hefty seat can be strenuous, but that is easily outweighed by the peace of mind that your child is safe and secure when traveling. Diono, a leading manufacturer of child safety seats also understand that safety is paramount for your little ones. Parents continuously recommend their seats despite what they think of the weight, as the weight in Diono seats is incurred by the following, including but not limited to:

Who doesn't love personalized jewelry? It makes a great gift especially for family that lives far away. With pictures so close to their heart, they can treasure these memories for years to come.

"PicturesOnGold.com creates the finest Photo Pendants and Charms, Gold Lockets, Silver Lockets and other Personalized Photo Jewelry in the industry. We create lasting photo lockets and photo jewelry keepsakes using only the finest 14k gold, white gold and Sterling Silver. You send us your photos and using our patented technology we laser engrave your pictures in color right on our gold lockets, silver lockets, locket charms and most of our custom jewelry. The results are gorgeous gold lockets or silver photo lockets that open to reveal your photos and can be worn as a beautiful photo or picture locket."

This list contains affiliate links.

I have been blogging "as work" for over 2 years now and I have learned a LOT along the way. When I first started trying to make money on my blog back was back in 2010. I signed up through all these different companies and websites not knowing what I was looking for and never found anything that I felt was worth my time. But when I started trying to expand my blog in 2012, it was more for hobby and then I thought I could review a few items here and there because I saw other bloggers doing just that. So I reached out to a few companies. And it worked. But that's a post for another day. And then I found out that I could really make money, if I invested more money into my blog. But that's also a post for another day. This post is all about the sites that you can work with to help monetize your blog because they have worked for me.

My daughter just started to swim over the summer. Being a mermaid is her new goal in life. She could live in the water everyday, if it were possible. She loves to pretend to be a mermaid, but what if there was a way for her to BE a mermaid?

Fin Fun is the maker of the Monofin and although I think those are SO COOL, my daughter is not quite a skilled enough swimmer for one yet, so I am excited to get the chance to include the Bikini Beach Cuddle Tail Blanket in my Holiday Gift Guide.

My daughter has LOVED My Little Pony for a few years now and she still does! She has almost everything so it is getting more difficult to find great gifts for her. I thought I would share some ideas that can help you think outside the box of the MLP world. No matter what age, there is something here for the My Little Pony fan in your life!

My son is obsessed with trains. When we are driving in the car and he spots tracks, he says "choo choo" and "look train" over and over again. I love to play with trains too, so I'm very excited he is starting to get into them. But he doesn't really have a nice train set. My in-laws plan on giving him a Thomas set, but I want to expand his collection with a high quality set too.

The Whittle Shortline Railroad is a family owned, 20 year old, wooden toy train company. They hand craft realistic toy trains that are compatible with Thomas, Brio, and Chuggington. Their toy trains are modeled after real trains you would see in your neighborhood. As a part of their 20th anniversary, they released over 20 new trains for August 2016. In December 2016, they will begin a program of releasing a new train each month and expanding their offering to trains around the world! Visit their website right now to watch video's and learn more. Seriously my son LOVES the video below.

MAM has the perfect holiday gift this year for your baby from festive holiday and personalized pacifiers to perfect stocking stuffers and a range of gift sets that include everything parents need to give their baby a healthy start.