My top 10 list of "Mommy Must-Haves"

Moms love getting recommendations for amazing products from other moms, so here's my list. I apologize that most items are baby related...my kids are still pretty little! Now that we're moving into the pre-school age, I'd love to get some recommendations from you...just add a comment at the bottom of the post.

1. On Becoming Baby Wise by Gary Ezzo. Anyone who knows me, knows I love this series. They have books for kids all the way through teens, but Baby Wise helped my kids become independent sleepers who slept 12 hours a night at a very early age.

2. Video Monitor - this helped me during my kids' first few months and I still love it today. They now have monitors that have a remote screen, that you can literally carry around your house.

3. The Ultimate Crib Sheet - this thing is amazing. It's waterproof on one side and sits just on top of a regular sheet. So when it needs to be cleaned, you just unsnap the straps from the sides and lift it off without having to remove the bumper or wrestle with the mattress.

4. Diapers.com - I am shocked that no one has mentioned this site before! You can get 160 Pampers for $39, which is a MUCH better price than I've ever seen. I also found size 6 Pull Ups for Ryan (for night time) and they'll be much more comfortable for him than the size 5's he's been wearing from the store. And with a $50 order, shipping is FREE. I have a coupon code from a magazine for $10 off (it expires 6/30/08)...feel free to use it. It's: PTG6. If you're reading this after 6/30, you can get $5 off your first order by using the code: KatieRoose.

5. No Slippy Hair Clippy - the only bows that will stay in Kaylin's fine, non-existent hair!!! And they don't snag on her hair when she pulls them out. I also recently met a local gal who sells little girl and baby hair accessories, bibs, nursing covers, etc. The name of her company is Jonesy Baby and this is her Etsy shop. The flower clips are really reasonable and pretty versatile. You can put them on her headbands, in your child's hair, in a pony tail elastic or on a hat. I bought a few and love them.

6. Color Wonder products by Crayola - SO worth the extra cost...I don't have to worry about markers on my carpet, tile or high chair tray. You can even buy them at Michael's and Joann's with a 40% off coupon. Kaylin recently found a Sharpie and is so used to me not caring where she colors that her little hand started heading for the grout on my tile!!! I stopped her just in time.

7. The most amazing catch-all Bibs - You can also get them here. This item should be higher on the list. Kaylin is now feeding herself because it catches the little bits that fall from the spoon or fork. You can unsnap them and lay them flat to wash them and they're so secure, Ryan spilled a whole cup of milk into it by accident and not a drop got on his clothes!!! (update - I just discovered that Walmart sells these bibs now for under $4. They're on the bottom shelf in the baby section of my store.)

8. TiVo/DVR - I love that I can record Ryan's favorite shows and he can watch them at any time of day. And in the rare moments when I actually watch a show or when Mike's watching a game, we don't have to shush the kids...I can just press "pause" and keep my kids the priority. Love it!

9. Onesie extenders - These help onesies fit kids a little longer. They come with various snap sizes. Genius!!!

10. Little Touch Leap Pad - I really like this book system. It's served our kids well. However, I was just in a market research group for a new product by Leap Frog called the Kiwi. It should come out sometime next year and is better in so many way. The books are downloaded right into the unit, so no lost cartridges, and if you plug it into the computer, it will tell you the progress of your child and give you tips on things to work on with them. (ie...if they consistently mix up K and X or something like that) It's so cool. Leap Frog is a huge hit in our house.