Fanttik: Vacuum for Your Car

 Your Car Seat Is a Mess!

As your child enters the toddler stage, he or she is going to want to eat everywhere and all the time. Especially in your just washed, cleaned car and the car seat. 

For those of you who value your time with your precious ride, you know how painful it is to watch the cookie crumbles, pieces of bread, smushed banana, and etc. falling in every single corners your fingers can't get to. 

I love my child, but the mess she made in my car wasn't a pretty sight. I wrote to Santa Clause last Christmas wishing for a portable vacuum cleaner. And guess what, I've been nice all year! 

Amazon Link to Fanttik Vacuum

How I found the brand:

One of my colleague brought a different model of Fanttik vacuum to the office. I have been thinking about getting a vacuum cleaner for the car for awhile. 

She said she got it from Costco. And we believe in the Costco's purchasing department deeply. She let me try it. 

My first impression: this sucks! I mean literally sucks in all the dusts from my office desk! 

I did my research.

How I chose this model:

The one I tried at the office was shaped like a pistol, where the handle is perpendicular to the hole where the suction happens. This is useful and handy if I don't intend on using it in tight spaces. The angle it creates with the handle does limit the maneuverability.

I looked for one that is straight, has both suction and blow functions, and many accessories that I might not even use, but just in case. ;)

I found this one on Amazon for the sales price of $65.99. Now it's a regular price. 

Few Important Specs:

It's called Fanttik V8 Apex Car Vacuum.

4-in-1, Portable, Cordless, 19000pa suction power, Type-C charge.

The box includes 5 different ends for the suction, 4 different sized holes for blowing. 

How I like it:

Our weekends as parents are too precious to be wasted on going to car wash and detailing. Settling for quick clean up inside the car somewhat comforts you, because at least your sitting area is clean. You get to see the car's inside more than the outside. 

It takes about 10 - 15 minutes to clean the front, rear, and trunk area for my sedan. The most time is spent on cleaning the car seat and the areas around it. You get to find treasures like banana peels that you don't even want to know how long it's been there. 

Anyhow, I always carry the vacuum cleaner in my car and clean at least once a week. Maybe when I'm at work and on lunch break. I could spare few minutes to stop by the parking lot to clean. 

When the car seat is clean and tidy, my daughter resists less to sit on it. So, all the worth. 

Birthday Gift for a Toddler Boy

Best Friend's Birthday Gift

Not long after our daughter started going to the daycare, she made a friend. They clicked even without talking! 

He is about 4 months older than her, but they enjoy each other's company. They go on little expeditions and both get amazed by the littlest things. 

The boy toddler's birthday was right around the corner and our family got invited. His parents are study abroad students that didn't have many friends who are married or have kids. 

It was so exciting that we got to do some real parents things like going to child's birthday party!

Biggest Challenge: Picking a Gift

Our daughter has very unique taste when it comes to toys. She likes things like locks, buckles, or tissue papers. It's difficult to figure out what our own child likes or wants. How are we going to pick out what another child likes?!

We had to be very stereotypical and think about what boys like at that age. Wells.. it's been almost 30 something years, so I don't remember. I haven't had any boys around that age who I had to buy a gift for. Hmmm.. play balls, cars, or robots. I'm sorry for being so typical, but we barely know this kid!

Research

I went on gift hunting to Target, Walmart, and Amazon whenever I had a second to spare. Our whole family went to Target and spent almost an hour exploring different options: Lego, blocks, musical toys, board games, kinetic sand, etc. 

We narrowed our choices down to the items mentioned above: ball, cars, or robots. They had so many cool things, but we wanted to stay on the safe side.

Finalist!

We laid our eyes on this. Our daughter was first one to get excited about this. She sometimes likes cars (not always). But she went "Woaaaahh!" over this one. So Hot Wheel it is!

We did quick search on Amazon for price comparison. And we also knew if we bought it and carried it, our daughter wouldn't leave it alone. So, we decided to get it delivered via Amazon. 

You can find it right here on this link:

Amazon Link to Fisher-Price Little People Hot Wheels

It's $24.99 plus tax with option for free return. 

Toy Specs

This is intended for toddlers 18+ months. 

It comes with 2 large hot wheel cars and a starting pad for the cars to roll down. If you press the green lever, it sends the cars down the rail. It produces sounds.

It includes drive-thru tunnel, lift gate, and gas pump. Kids at this age loves to pretend play. 

Did He Like It?

When we got to the party, we found out that he owns tons of toys, mostly trains, trucks, and cars! His parents told us he loves cars so much. And fortunately, he did not already have the one our daughter handed to him. 

He was the happiest toddler in the world the moment he found out his favorite friend brought him gift. She even wrote, or drew, him a card! (Little tip: don't just give a gift alone. Make a card. Draw along your child's hand and let him or her color it!)

Little hugs and they shared a cake. They both were really happy. 

It was stereotypical, but it works. Don't think too hard. Kids will like anything new and as long as it's somewhere in the ballpark. Good luck finding these gems!

Kinetic Sand Review

Kinetic Sand Kit on Amazon

It's on sale for $10.69 (-29%) right now!

The world's famous Kinetic Sand!

I've always had my eyes on these waiting for my daughter to grow old enough not to put the sand in her mouth. And here we are. I finally got my... my daughter's hands on them!

First impression: "Is this sand living and moving?" They flow out of your hands. They are super soft. If you put some pressure on them, they harden very quickly. They feel good on your finger and don't stick! 

Ingredients

Kinetic sand is made by Wabafun (U.S company) and a Swedish company Delta Sand. They partnered with a company called Spin Master, which produces and distributes a lot of toys in the market.

This magical sand is a substance called hydrophobic sand. It's made with 98% natural sand and 2% polydimethylsiloxane. It's the stuff that makes them stick. They are known to be non-toxic, which is the most essential factor in children's toys.

Contents of the Box

The contents were pretty much straightforward. Everything you see on the box minus the kid's hand: 1lb of Kinetic Sand, molds for a castle, shark, turtle, shell, and starfish. They had different color variations for the sand. 

Would You Buy It? Should You Buy It?

My daughter fell in love playing with sand last summer at the beach. We don't live close to one. She kept on playing with the sand castle molds we bought then but without any sand. 

The moment she saw the Kinetic Sand, she had the biggest wow moment in her entire life. She was a bit scared to touch it at first, but then she played with it for hours. 

If you don't have beach sand access, but if your child still lives in that moment from last summer vacation, this is it!

Use the link above to get to it.

I've started the Amazon Associates program and I need your click on the link to survive. And it's probably the quickest way to get to the product if you are already here! 

Things I Appreciate

 After One Year..

There have been a lot of changes since the baby was born. Our family's daily routines have turned upside down. We moved from one state to a different time zone state. I stopped working. My wife started working to put bread on the table for the family. Our conversation topics changed. Our focus shifted to the baby more. Furniture arrangement changed. 

Biggest change I experienced is my emotions. I started to appreciate the things that seemed unrelated to me for my entire life. I've never imagined walking into the baby's room in the morning would be such a happy moment. I put on the biggest smile on my face, even without any effort, with genuine joy. The joy comes from seeing our youngest family member. This has been going on for over a year now and I enjoy every morning that I get to do it. 

Scary Obstacle

Danger is everywhere and it can visit your family at any time it desires. I keep my eyes on the baby for the most of the day except when she goes to sleep. We leave her in the crib in her room. We thought it is one of the safest places on earth for her. 

Then it happens. She woke up after a nap. She rolls, sits, and stands. We didn't realize she tries to climb things too. She tried to climb the crib's rail. Fell. Fortunately, we had carpet and a cushy mat on the floor. She didn't get hurt. We ran in because she started to cry. I had to watch the baby cam's history. It was excruciating to even watch what happened. 

Another incident happened last night. Our baby has a lot of heat. She gets hot very quick. So, we installed a cooling mat in the crib on the mattress. We secured it fast to the mattress, so it wouldn't come off on any side. But it did. For whatever the reason, one corner's rubber band came up. Our baby's arm got through the loop and the cooling mat ended up wrapping her face. She immediately started crying, so we were able to rescue quickly. If it was in the middle of the night, oh man God forbid, I don't even want to think about it. 

I took every accessories off of the crib and got rid of them. I slept beside the crib all night. I had to wake up almost every hour to check if she was breathing okay. The morning came. I was awaken by our baby's voice. She was reaching her tiny hand out of the crib rail and trying to touch my face. What a relief to see her okay!

Emotions

I don't think I've ever cared for someone this much in my life. There are expectations for other people around my age to take care of themselves on their own. For my daughter, there could be none. She barely knows about this world yet. Now I feel like I understand those novels or movies about fatherly love. Until now, I thought I understood, but it was only an imagination.

Emotions play a big part in any relationships between two or more human beings. I like the fact that I can recognize these emotions and they come. I am also relieved that I can enjoy these emotions. I'm very happy that I can share these emotions with my own family, people closest to me. 

World Outside of Home

 It's Still There, The World Before Kids

I've been blessed enough to be a stay-at-home parent for our daughter. Along with relocating to a new city, I started to stay home to take care of my child and let my wife work. Fortunately, she's working remotely at home too. We are having a blast watching our child grow.

It's been over 6 months since I've dedicated my career to this role. There have been many ups and downs. Since our daughter started to crawl and stand, I didn't have much time. It got tough to even write blog posts anymore. More cleaning, getting dangers out of the way, and constantly keeping my eyes on her to stop things on the floor to go into her mouth. 

I barely had time for myself. Weekends were for the family time instead of "me time." My wife deserves breaks and rests since she works hard for 5 weekdays. I was aware of the fact that I lacked the "me time," but I thought I was okay.

One Day Out 

My friend texted and asked if I wanted to chill. "Oh, that's new," I said to myself and my wife. My wife suggested to take a break and go have fun. So, I did. I went out with my friend for one beer. Yes, just one. 

It was enough to make me realize how isolated I've been. Here are some things I realized.

My Spot in the Crowd

I used to love the crowd. During college, we always had a small party at my place every Friday night. No invitations were needed. It was always at least 6 - 8 people gathering. I was the one who "recruited" them always. I always had a spot in the crowd. I was the one who didn't let the conversation come to an end. 

 COVID-19 and moving to new places also prevented me from meeting people. Having a baby sealed the deal even tighter. I haven't been in a crowd for a while now. Hanging out with my old college friend reminded me of who I was before all my life happened.

Conversation Takes Practice

No matter how eloquent you were, if you don't practice speaking to an adult, you lose it.  Only other adult I got to talk to was my wife. About 80% of the topic is our child. The other 20% is about the people or things related to our child. 

I was all over the places trying to hold a proper conversation with my buddy. I jumped to conclusions before the premises were defined. I brought up about a million topics when he got through 3. 

Towards the end of the day, I was finally able to listen to what he said and ANSWER with proper vocabulary and grammar. 

Moon through the Moonroof is Amazing

One beer, couple of hours of talking, I was sober enough to drive. As I was driving back, I blasted music on the car stereo and opened the moonroof to enjoy the night breeze. I looked up to the cloudy moon light. Yes. I used to enjoy these little things. I felt like I was 16 again in the old Honda CR-V that became my first ride. 

It allowed for few minutes of reminiscing. All other things I used to enjoy are still out there. Will I enjoy them as much? I definitely am on the other angle of seeing things than then. But, there are many things I still enjoy the same. Having a child didn't make me a new person. It upgraded me in bits, not entirely. 

Conclusion

Staying home with a baby is a blessing. I get to witness all the firsts with my own eyes. There are indescribable feelings in bonding with our child. I sincerely enjoy it. If I had to try to enjoy, I wouldn't have been able to do it. 

There are things that I missed out on during this time. I don't regret missing out, but it just felt weird I forgot about some of those things.  Being caught up in anything, even taking care of your baby instead of you, is dangerous. If you lose track of who you are, you aren't really setting a good example for your child. 

Keep in mind, healthy you is the best parent for your child. Take a break. Have some me-time. 

[ATL Restaurant Review] Postino in Buckhead

Not Just Another Restaurant Reviewing Blog

One major change after we got a baby is where we eat. Up until now, we always had to carry our baby in the stroller, because she couldn't sit in the high chair by herself. We turned to delivery or pick-up to enjoy a bit of cold food served in plastic. 

We'd always have to pick spacious restaurants at less busy times. It narrowed our choices down a lot, especially in Los Angeles where all the popular restaurants are always packed with people. 

Now that we are in Atlanta, we are on our new expedition for good restaurants. I'll attempt to write reviews on some that we find worthy of a visit for young couples with a little one. 

Postino - Buckhead

The starter is Postino in Buckhead. 

We visited on a Sunday afternoon for a brunch. I passed by it a few times around the neighborhood. It looked like a nice little brunch spot, so we gave it a try. 

Parking and Exterior

There was plenty of parking in the plaza. The picture only shows some spots in the front of the restaurant, but there are a bunch more in the back. It had a ramp for strollers and wheelchairs that led to the outdoor seating area. 

One wall had vibrant wall art. Definitely eye-catching. 

Interior and Space

The inside was cozy but spacious. It's geared towards a wine cafe with a good vibe. The decoration was of the 90s blockbuster movie posters.  

Not all tables could accommodate a stroller, but definitely, the outdoor tables had more space.  It wasn't busy at all by the time we got there. We decided to sit outdoors to enjoy the warm weather. 

Menu

Link to their menu: Click Here

They have a great variety of wine selections and food that deserves a glass of wine. Even if you are not drinking, the food is still great. 

We ordered 3 menus:

- Appetizer: Smoked Salmon

- Panini: Italian Beef Dip

- Select Two: Prosquitto & Brie Panini and Brussels Sprouts Salad

All ingredients were very fresh. You could taste each unique flavor and also amazing balance with all the dishes. It was very tempting to order a glass of wine (the happy hour menu is available too!). 

Quality of Service

We had a couple of servers switching. They said they don't have the designated table system. All the servers were very polite and friendly.  The food came out at a good pace and they were warm! Not on a plastic plate either!

Overall Experience

My wife and I, plus our daughter in a stroller, had a great experience at the restaurant. We would've enjoyed the night out with bottles of wine before the baby, but Sunday brunch did just fine. Spacious enough for a stroller, but we saw some other families with high chairs indoors as well. The people were delightful.

They didn't have a kids menu, so if your child is a bit older, you might want to take note of that. Paninis will do just fine. 

I would revisit the place to try out other things on the menu. 

Restaurant Info

Hours: 

 Mon - Thur: 11 AM - 11 PM

 Friday:         11 AM - 12 AM

 Saturday:     10 AM - 12 AM

 Sunday:       10 AM - 10 PM

Brunch Hours

 Sat-Sun: 10 AM - 2 PM

Address (Click below for Google Map)

3655 Roswell Rd NE Atlanta, Georgia 30342

Taking Care of Baby as a Job

Rewarding and Depressing

Full-time staying-at-home parent is a tough job. It's rewarding for the most part, but it comes with lots of depressing moments. 

As I've been a stay-at-home parent for the last couple of months, I'll share my experiences. I hope this helps you to figure out why you or your partner is going through such a hardship.   

Rewards

• Bonding Time: You get to spend a great amount of time bonding with your child. The bond created from early childhood sets up for the remaining times. Every time I put my daughter in my arms, I think what a sad life it would have been if I didn't get to do it every day. 
• Witnessing Milestones: Of course, the world has better cameras to record everything, but it's never the same to see it and feel it right there and then. I witnessed my child getting up holding the crib rail by herself. It was truly an amazing experience to see her take the first step forward. 
• Creating Memories: I doubt every now and then, "How much of this will she remember?" Many research say babies remember a lot more than what we'd imagine. I still have some childhood memories or memories of memories that made me happy even when I was in my teens.  I try to give my daughter new kinds of excitement every day hoping it'd create a good memory. 

Depressing Moments

• Isolation: My wife works at home remotely. Even with her around, she is focused on her job mainly, as she should be. A lot of times, I feel isolated and lonely because our baby is too young to engage in social activities. My only outlet is through social media, but I can't be looking at the smartphone around the baby. I go almost all day without having interactions with people. It gets lonely.
• Loss of Identity: I used to work. I used to work with a lot of people. I used to interact with hundreds of people on a daily basis. It was part of who I was. Staying home makes me feel like I've lost my identity and ability to do anything else. I kind of lose sight of my purpose, because it doesn't seem like I'm bearing any fruit. I know that in the long run, it's significant, but not having any constant feedback, I lose track of where I am in my life. 
• Loss of Control: Babies cry. They cry to communicate. Our daughter started to whine a lot more because she now has demands. It's hard to understand, though, what she wants. It makes you feel like you lose control. You don't have a clue what you need to do. 
• Getting Held Up: I used to plan an agenda every day. I might not write them down, but it always revolve around my head. Caring for a baby takes away a lot of time from doing things I thought I'd get done. The list of to-do's calling my brain's attention really stresses me out.

How to Navigate

Navigating the highs and lows of stay-at-home parenting with a baby under one year old requires resilience, support, and self-care. Resilience is difficult to practice and get better. Support from the family needs to be asked. It might not come naturally for all people. 

Self-care is where the most effort could shine the light. First and foremost is to realize that you, the stay-at-home parent, are struggling. Depression slips in unnotified. Set a time, in the morning, lunch, or before going to bed to check your status. See if you can think of anything to be thankful for or something happy. If not, you need to let your family know. Take a break. 

I take my daughter out for walks as much as the weather permits. It helps my daughter to develop, but it also gives me a chance to get some fresh air and clean out my system. Seeing the blue sky and floating clouds makes your day brighter, no matter how old you are. Try!

Remember, only happy parents can raise a happy child.