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DockATot Deluxe

Our sweet Berkeley Mae was born this summer, on June 21, 2017. It was an easy delivery and she completed our now, family of six. I’ve had a lot of practice with babies over the past nine years. I’ve birthed four and fostered six, and because of this, we’ve tried a ton of baby products. Some have been amazing and others, a complete waste of money. I’ve also learned that babies have preferences and they aren’t all buying what companies are selling. Sometimes swinging around like a monkey isn’t soothing, but actually quite terrifying. Berkeley made sure we knew this by crying every time we tried it. So… one expensive product was passed along to her cousin who actually enjoys it.

This time around, we were gifted the DockATot Deluxe, and it is hands down the baby product we’ve used the most over the past six months. We are a co-sleeping family and the DockATot has made it much easier for us to do this. I’ve gotten so much more sleep and Berkeley loves the cozy feel of it and has been sleeping through the night since 10 weeks.

So you may be wondering, what is the DockATOt?

DockATot® is a multi-functional lounging, playing, chilling, resting and snuggling dock you can take anywhere. Designed in Sweden, it has been tested for breathability, is OEKO-TEX certified, all natural and 100% cotton. It has an ideal micro-climate for babies and toddlers. It’s also machine washable.

We have found all of this to be true. We use the DockATot Deluxe (0-8 months) for naps at home and when we are traveling or at others’ homes. Berkeley has slept in her DockATot in hotels, at my 93 year old grandfather’s house, on her cousins nursery floor and many other places. We are planning on carrying it on the airplane with us in a few weeks so she can nap in it, on our four hour flight.

Napping in her cousin’s nursery when we traveled to Virginia to meet him for the first time.

Hanging by the lake (of course supervised and only this close for a pic) at her grandparent’s house.

Napping with her big sister while mommy was folding laundry.

Napping at her Great Grandfather’s house while on a road trip.

Berkeley is constantly being smothered in hugs and kisses by her siblings, so sometimes you can see her breathe a sigh of relief when we put her in her DockATot. It’s her comfort spot away from mommy. We love that she has a consistent place to rest!

You can check out all of the products here: DockATOt.

We are looking forward to trying the next size, DockATot Grande in the coming weeks!

**We were given the DockATot Deluxe Dream Weaver compliments of DockATot. As always, the reviews and opinions of products are our own.**

DIY Shiplap Wall

Ever since we discovered Fixer Upper and Joanna Gaines, we’ve been positively giddy about “shiplap!” A year ago, I had never heard this term and now I would love to shiplap every wall in my house. Like seriously.

My three year old talks about shiplap as if it’s just an every day vocabulary word and my sweet husband just rolls his eyes as I tell him all of my shiplapping plans for the future. My guess is that there are many others out there that have also had their worlds rocked by the beautiful possibility of shiplap, but need some help with getting started.

Well, we’ve got you covered! We have two ways for you to get the shiplap look in DIY style and on a friendly budget. I’m sharing my method in this post and Christine will share her’s in another.  Happy Shiplapping friends!

Method One:

Our master bedroom is big and I wanted an accent wall to give it some farmhouse character. Michael set off to Home Depot for our supplies and I prepped the room. 

 

Michael bought Sande Birch Plywood from Home Depot. He had them cut the boards into 6 inch planks. (Warning- the boards were less than clean cuts so if you can do it yourself, it’s better)

Once he arrived home, we sanded the boards with fine grit sandpaper. We just did the edges and it didn’t take long.

This is me (Becca) taking the boards upstairs.

We started at the top of the wall and did our best to level the boards. We used a nail gun to make it faster but you can do this job with just a hammer (it might take a bit longer).

Progress on the wall…

Once we finished nailing the wood to the wall, it was time to prime and paint. We used Sherwin Williams primer and Alabaster paint. We opted not to fill the nail holes with wood filler because I wanted the rustic look.

Here is the finished wall. I absolutely love how it brightened our master bedroom!

Let me know if you need help or advice. I will just be at home shiplapping.

Lorena Canals Rug

I’ve been on a mission lately to find quality area rugs, that can handle the madness of four little kids and two old dogs. We had to discard our living room rug recently because it had become unsanitary in our house. Gross. It’s just really hard to clean most rugs.

Basically, we need rugs that can withstand all the messes these tiny creatures tend to make, and that is hard to find. Except…  this type of rug does exist, and we’ve been thrilled with its addition to our home! We’ve had the Bereber Beige rug by Lorena Canals for a few months now, and I am absolutely in love!

We put it in our son’s bedroom since he plays on the floor all the time, and it has become the spot we all go to roll around with the baby. It’s 100% natural cotton with non-toxic dyes, and the best part is… it’s MACHINE-WASHABLE. Yes, that’s right, you can throw that beauty in the wash, which I did after the flu swept through our house a few weeks ago, and actually clean the rug.

Not only is this rug durable, its also versatile! I picked the Bereber because I can envision using it in multiple rooms in my house. I also use it for many of my IG posts when staging photos.

Baby photo shoot! This is also the space we bring her as she’s learning to roll and crawl, because it’s soft and safe.

A lifestyle look. I will seriously just stand in this room and rub my feet into this rug because it’s so soft.

We love this rug and highly recommend you check it out at Lorena Canals! 

They have a variety of rug styles for kids and home. They also have washable cushions and baskets that are adorable.

**I was given the Bereber Beige Rug compliments of Lorena Canals. As always, the reviews and opinions of products are my own.**