aden + anais, the fabulous company that makes the wonderful muslin swaddle blankies now has a Cozy Slumber sleep sack!   Make sure to read below on how you can enter to win one!

aden + anais is proudly sponsoring the CJ Foundation for SIDS and their continuing efforts to educate parents about the importance of not over-bundling and over-heating their infants.

Over 2,000 babies in the United States still die of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) each year, and overheating is a leading risk factor.  The CJ Foundation recommends the use of wearable blankets and sleep-sacks in place of blankets to keep infants warm while sleeping.

It was this sponsorship that influenced and inspired aden + anais to design products that answer the question: how do we design a product that keeps babies warm in winter months and yet reduces the risk of overheating? aden + anais has the solution with their new cozy sleeping bag.

The cozy sleeping bag consists of four layers of aden + anais’ signature, breathable, muslin cotton in modern, fun prints.

My daughter is now 7 1/2 months and has been wearing a sleep sack every night since she outgrew her swaddle around 3 months.   I was sent a product for review, and I have to say, this is the BEST sleep sack we have ever used!   It is now going to be my “go to” shower gift for new moms.

It is ULTRA soft.  And gets softer and softer with each wash.   It is breathable,  yet also is thick enough to be warm and cozy for the winter months.  We use this as a blanket over my baby’s regular jammies.  It is a FABULOUS product, I can’t more highly recommend it.

Click HERE to read Top 10 Safety Tips on how you can help reduce the risk of SIDS.

Hooray!  It’s a Tiny Giveaway!

aden + anais is giving away ONE Cozy Slumber Sleeping Bag  in the winner’s choice of size & style to one lucky winner (limited to US or Canada residents only.)   There are 6 entries possible!  Please leave a separate comment per each option.  Here’s how…

1. Comment below and tell me your favorite print – 1 ENTRY
2. Become a fan of aden + anais on Facebook – 1 ENTRY
3. Become a fan of Tiny Oranges on Facebook – 1 ENTRY
4. Follow @adenandanais on Twitter – 1 ENTRY
5. Follow @TinyOrangesOC on Twitter – 1 ENTRY
6. Become a Tiny Oranges subscriber (top right column) – 1 ENTRY

You can enter all week, have your entries in before 12pm PST on Thurs. 2/25/2010. I will post the winner next Friday! Good luck and HAPPY WEEKEND!!!!

I am sure I am not the only mom guilty of owning a fancy SLR digital camera and only using it on “AUTO!”  Truth be told, I have been meaning to take a class or break out my camera’s manual for years. My husband bought me the Nikon D40 for my first Mother’s Day as I was taking literally a thousand pictures a month of my then new baby. I love it. No delay, great quality, but I have not gotten creative at all. Plus, I am a little intimidated.  That’s why I am so excited about this article.

Sandy Heit, the creative talent behind Sandy Heit Photography, and a fellow OC mommy wrote a GREAT some simple tips on how to use your digital cameras off “Auto!”  Plus, it is in language that even my mommy brain can understand – thanks Sandy!  Here is what she wrote…

Getting Creative with Your Digital SLR

“With digital SLRS becoming more popular, it seems everyone nowadays has one. With the current digital technology it’s made it much easier to take good photos in the “fully automatic” or “preprogrammed” (usually denoted by icons) modes.  However, to get really creative and take great images you need to take control of your settings.

With digital SLRs there are 3 variables you can control: 1) Aperture 2) Shutter Speed and 3) ISO.

If you are unfamiliar with these terms, I recommend getting out your camera manual to find out where these settings are located on your camera and which buttons and dials change them.

The Basics

APERTURE: The aperture is the opening that allows light through your lens. The numbers that measure the size of the opening are called f-stops.  One thing that is a bit tricky is that the larger the f-stop number (say f16 is smaller than f8), the smaller the opening (lets in LESS light).  The opposite is also true, the smaller the f-stop (f2.8 is larger than 5.6) the larger the opening (lets in MORE light).   The main thing aperture controls is depth of field.  Here is explanation of depth of field:

Shallower depth of field (lower aperture) = blurrier background – great for portraits

Larger depth of field (higher aperture) = sharper background – great for landscapes

With my portrait sessions, I almost always shoot with a very shallow depth of field.  My aperture is usually f2 – f4 for a single subject or sibling shots and I use an aperture of f4 – f5.6 for family or group shots.  This puts the focus on my subjects and makes a nice blurry background.

SHUTTER SPEED: Shutter speed is the amount of time the shutter remains open once you take your photo. When photographing moving subjects, a fast shutter speed of 1/500 or greater will freeze the motion, while a slow shutter speed like 1/30 shows movement or blur.

ISO: Whether you shoot with film or use a digital camera, your choice of ISO (or film speed) has a direct impact on the combination of apertures and shutter speeds you can use. The easiest explanation I’ve heard to better understand the effect of ISO on exposure, is to think of the ISO as a worker bee. If your camera is set for ISO 100, you have 100 worker bees; and if your camera is set for ISO 200, you have 200 worker bees. The job of these worker bees is to gather the light that comes through the lens and make an image.  The less light that is available the more worker bees you need.  Here are some general guidelines when selecting ISO.

Use ISO 100 or 200 if you are outside on a sunny day.

ISO 400 is the best all around setting. It works well outdoors (as long as not too bright) or for indoor portraits by a window or in “open shade” which offers great soft lighting for portraits.  Open shade can be found almost anywhere not in direct sunlight. Some examples are the shadows of large buildings, under big trees, or all over on overcast days.

Use 800 – 1600 on overcast days or when shooting low light indoors. The downside of using a high ISO is quite a bit of digital noise (similar to grain when using film)

I think a great starting point to putting all of this information together is to start practicing. If you’ve been stuck on one of the fully automatic modes on your camera, I highly recommend starting with baby steps and using one of the priority modes on your camera.

There is Shutter Priority (usually “S” or “Tv” on your dial) in which you set the shutter speed and the camera sets the aperture or Aperture Priority (usually “A” or “Av” on your dial) in which you set the aperture and the shutter speed.  For portraits, I prefer Aperture Priority since this is the mode where you most control the depth of field.

Easy Exercises to Get You Started!

A great exercise is to find a subject and find some open shade (shady part of your yard, covered porch). Have your subject face the light.  For your camera settings, set your camera dial to Aperture Priority, use an ISO of 400 and the lowest aperture your lens will go (typically f2.8 – 4.0) and take a picture. Next, increase your aperture by one f stop (common f-stops are: f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6, f/8, f/11, f/16, and f/22) and take another picture.  Keep doing this until you reach f/16.  Upload your images and notice the differences to your depth of field.

Another exercise is to set your aperture again to the lowest your lens will go.  If you are using a zoom lens keep your lens at a fixed focal length.  Take a close-up picture of your subject, move 5 feet back and take another picture and move another 5 feet back and take another picture.  Upload your images and notice that your distance to your subject will also affect your depth of field.

If you want to step it up a notch and try the above exercises using the Manual mode instead of Aperture Priority, simply set your dial to M for manual, use the same ISO and aperture settings and look through your viewfinder and focus on your subject.  Adjust your shutter speed until your camera’s light meter indicates a correct exposure and take the picture.  In the first exercise, you will need to change our shutter speed each time you change your aperture.

Hope this is information is useful.  The best thing about digital photography is instant gratification. What you see through your viewfinder is what you get.  You learn much faster because you are getting instant results.

If you would like to learn more about photography, I highly recommend the book Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson.”

Orange County Photographer Sandy Heit offers contemporary portraiture for babies, children and families. Sandy works all over Orange County and LA and will shoot at your home, the park, a beach or any place you have in mind.

www.sandyheit.com
949.515.3905

{Sandy Heit Photography is a Tiny Oranges Sponsor}

I am sooo breaking the rules of “Wordless Wednesday” picture today because I have to explain the title.   I promise my next Wordless Wednesday will not have so many words, but for this one, I need some WORDS!!!  In the meantime, you can pop on over to Angry Julie Monday to see more Wordless Wednesday pictures from people that did NOT break the rules!

I am signing up for the OC 1/2 Marathon on 05/02/10, which for me, is seriously crazy.  But it has been  the answer to what I am calling my “momlife” { not “midlife”} crisis!  It’s not really a crisis, that’s a little dramatic, but the phrase made me giggle so I went with it.

The past few months I have been in such a FUNK.  You ever get in those?

Blogging aside, for the most part, I am a full time, stay at home mom.   Many of my days are filled with making endless snacks, attending to requests, wiping poops, listening to whines, making meals that are not eaten, making more snacks, cleaning the dishes, running interference on toys the baby is crawling to “steal,” avoiding new-crawling baby disasters,  loading up car seats for errands, preschool pick ups,  making more snacks, cleaning more dishes, trying to get a baby that does not like to nap to nap, nursing, wiping noses,making endless trips to parks or Target, giving baths,making more meals, doing laundry, folding laundry done days ago… well,  you get the idea.

At the end of some days, when the house is quiet and I sit down to blog, I seriously feel like a shell of a human. Depleted. Exhausted. I have given ALL of me to my kids ALL day, and there is nothing left.

Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE being a mom and I LOVE my kids more than words can express.  For the list I wrote above, I can name a thousand rewards too.  I wouldn’t trade it for the world.  But what has happened recently is I felt like each day was just running into the next.   And at the end of each day,  I realized I hadn’t done one thing to take care of myself or my health or mental/physical well being.  And, it bummed me out.

So, what did I do for a little pick me up?  A way to try to get some control in my life?   I cut my hair.   Not a good idea.  It never fixes things. Even my mom who is the sweetest, most encouraging mom in the world said, “Hmmmm…I think I like it either a little shorter or a little longer” which was a really nice way to say she didn’t like it.  I can say it – I hate it too.  Good thing hair grows back.

Take my advice – don’t change your hair on a whim.

Then it happened.  The signs of what I needed to do.

Two of my friends ran the 1/2 marathons last year and were going for the OC 1/2 in May.  One of which just had a baby in December. I was in awe of them.  Total rock star moms.  In the back of my head, I thought “I could NEVER do that.”   Then, one of my other best friends ran the 10K  Turkey Trot in November and told me she was going to do the OC 1/2 too.

Three of my best friends were all running, and loving it, and excited about this upcoming race.  They really inspired me.  I was 3 months out.   I asked them…could I do it?  Was it realistic?

With their encouragement, I started running a few weeks ago.   No promises to sign up yet, I just wanted to see how it went first.  In the beginning, I could barely run for 2 miles.   It really sucked, I am not going to lie.  I got that stitch under my ribs and it was painful.  But I kept going.  My girlfriend told me when that happens she “cranks up the iPod” and keeps going.  So I kept going.

My other girlfriend sent me this training schedule.  Roughly 3 runs during the week and a long one on the weekend, adding one mile on the weekend run each week up to 10 miles.

It is funny how something as scary as a 1/2 marathon can motivate you to not miss a workout!  I have been a little running fanatic, never missing a scheduled run.   I have also done everything I can to arrange it around a time so I can go alone.   It feels good to have one thing, whether it be 30 or 45 minutes that is just MINE.  A little taste of freedom. Time to focus and clear my head.  AND NOT HAVE TO  GIVE ANYONE A SNACK!

This past Saturday, I was able to run 4 miles.  I did it.  I have never been able to run 4 miles in my life.   It was hard and it kinda took me a long time, but I did it.  Yesterday afternoon I did 3 miles again and my time keeps slowly getting a little better.

After my runs this week, I am noticing a difference.  I FEEL stronger.  Running actually felt awesome. I never thought I would hear myself say that! I am really doing it!

I talked to my mom this weekend, and she said she noticed a change in me,  I just seem a lot happier.

And, you know what?

I am happier. I am happier because I feel better.   The running has given me energy, a focus, a goal, something that I feel like is just for ME. I feel inspired and excited.

That doesn’t change the fact that I am really scared and really intimidated, but I think I can do it.   One of my favorite quotes I try to  live by is by Henry Ford – “Whether you think that you can, or that you can’t, you’re usually right.”

And, someone out there HAS to be slower than me, right?!?

{P.S. Just yesterday, the fabulous fellow mommy blogger, Just Spotted posted a WHOLE post on 12 local upcoming runs yesterday…check it out! So even if you are not ready for a 1/2, there are lots of fun other ones to get you started.   And, if anyone else is running the OC one, comment below!  Would love to meet up at the race!  I might be wearing a Tiny Oranges hat or something.  Hopefully you don’t see me passed out somewhere along the Back Bay!  HA!}

Did you know  South Coast Repertory has a series of plays geared towards children called “Theatre for Young Audiences?”

Last Saturday, I was invited by SCR to see one of these plays, the adaptation of the beloved children’s book by Madeleine L’Engle, A Wrinkle of Time on the Julianne Argyros Stage.  I was very excited because I haven’t seen a play in years and even more so because “A Wrinkle in Time” stands out as one of my all time favorite childhood books.

My daughters (at 3 1/2 & 7 months) were too young to attend, so my mom and I went and made an afternoon out of it.  I loved watching all the families there with their kids.   In today’s world of videos and high def  TV, it really is wonderful  to have the opportunity to expose children to the art of live theatre.

The stage where it was performed was very intimate.  Not a bad seat in the house!  Every seat had a seriously great view.   All the kids in there were so well behaved and seemed to hang on every word and magical set change.

The acting was superb and the set design was so clever. For those of you not familiar with the story, this science fiction favorite  follows Meg and her little brother Charles Wallace on a quest through time and space in search of their father with the help of three eccentric magical sisters. Learning valuable lessons along the way, in the end, the story is really about the power of love.

The theme and story line would likely be a little over the heads of little ones, so I would say this particular play is geared to slightly older children, like 6+.     Not familiar with the “older” ages as I still have little ones, I asked a sweet grandmother behind me how old her grandkids were. They were 7 & 9.  At intermission I asked them how they liked the play and their eyes immediately lit up and said they “loved it.”   It was this grandmother’s opinion that 7+ was a good age for this performance.

For the “Theatre for Young Audience” plays, children must be a minimum of 4 years old and no babes are allowed in arms.   Everyone must have a seat and able to sit quietly and enjoy the performance.

It started right on time, the first half was about 40 minutes, then a 15 minute intermission and the second half was about 35 minutes, so about 1 1/2 hours from start to finish.  I thought this timing was about perfect for a young audience.

“A Wrinkle in Time”  runs from now through February 27th, 2010. Two shows were added on the end, and subsequently still have great seats available!  Although, like I said before, in this theatre there really is no such thing as a bad seat!

Click HERE for showtimes & tickets!

Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a LOVE-ly Valentine’s Day!

Speaking of love, I am SOOOOOOO  in love with this new necklace from the custom, baby name jewelry company, Hot Mama Designs! Make sure to read below on how you can enter to WIN one!   You can also enter Hot Mama Designs Coupon Code “betiny” for 10% off your Hot Mama order!!

The designers came up with the “Be” necklace after the start of the New Year to give women a way to choose their affirmation and wear it all year round.  Isn’t that a fun idea?  You can choose your necklace with any “Be” statement you want… a resolution, reminder, affirmation…anything you want it to BE!

So, what do you want to BE?  Be Present?  Be Inspired?  Be Positive?  Be Daring?  Be Happy?   Isn’t it inspiring and fun to think of the possibilities?

Priced at $55, I think this would also make a phenomenal gift for a special friend or family member. Click HERE to shop these necklaces and their other fabulous products!

Hooray!  It’s a Tiny Giveaway!

Hot Mama Designs is giving away a free “Be” necklace to one lucky winner!  Here is how you can enter (up to 5 entries possible!):

1. Simply comment below and tell me, what would your “Be” necklace say??? – 1 ENTRY
2. Leave a comment and say “add me to the HM e-mail list!” – 1 ENTRY
3. Leave a comment and say “I follow @hotmamajewelry on Twitter!” – 1 ENTRY
4. Leave a comment and say “I am a Tiny Oranges Facebook Fan!” – 1 ENTRY
5. Leave a comment and say “I am a Tiny Oranges subscriber!” (top right column) – 1 ENTRY

You can enter all week, just have your entries in before 12pm PST on Sunday, 2/21/10.  I will post the winner next Monday!  Good luck!

Congratulations to Sandra and Jaimie – the Amelia & Whip It DVD winners!!!!

{Hot Mama Designs is a Tiny Oranges Sponsor}