Friday Randoms

{one}  

Tuesday afternoon, during the mini-marathon that is getting the kids fed, Jack ready for school, and out the door in a timely manner for preschool drop-off I couldn't locate my keys.  ::cue panic::  We needed to leave right. then. and my keys were MIA.  Where were they?  I discovered them just in the nick of time sitting very conveniently on my trunk.  Great place to keep them, right?  ::face palm::  Lucky for me the snow that had fallen on them overnight had melted by lunchtime otherwise there's no way I would have found them.

{two}  

Mark brought me home an early Christmas gift: a new heated blanket!  I can't tell you how exciting this is to me.  Our room gets so. cold. this time of year.  Add to that I'm pretty much frozen from mid-September to mid-April and it's not a good combination.  We've used a dual-controlled heated blanket for a few years and it's awesome, but it seems that the stupid things need replaced every other year (what's with that?  Does this happen to anyone else?).  My side always goes bad.  Mark says from overuse (because he could basically do without the blanket to begin with), I say that's bullcocky because how could I use it improperly?!  So what if I crank it up to the highest level?  It's there for a reason!  Anyway... new blanket.  Happy (warm) me.  Hope this one lasts more than 2 winters.

{three}  

I have The Purge in hand and I'm super psyched to watch it tonight.  Hope it's good!

{four}

I bought this little food mat thing the other day and it's definitely one of my new favorite things!  I picked it up at Tarjay for, I think, $6.  It's made by Gerber and it's awesome!  We had something similar with Jack and it was horrible; it didn't lay flat, didn't stick to the table, basically it was worthless.  The mat I just bought is nice and flexible so not only does it fold easily for storage, but it lays nice and flat on the table.  It also clings to the table to keep it from sliding around and it even has a short lip around the edges, which although not super rigid, does help to keep food on the table.  It's dishwasher safe too!  This definitely helps to simplify feeding Molly on the go.  Love it!

{five}  

War on Thanksgiving.  I complain about it every year.  It's really not the holiday season until I make my annual grumbles about the situation.  It drives me insane to see stores putting out Christmas items immediately following Halloween (or earlier!  I can't even...). One holiday at a time and being that Thanksgiving is my favorite of holidays I hate that it gets lost in the push for early Christmas.  Anyway, I typically don't even give a thought to holiday gifts until after Thanksgiving (to be honest, I don't love general gift-giving.  I just don't think I'm very good at it.  I stress.), but this year I'm kind of proud to say that I've bought a few gifts in the last week or so.  It seems that because Thanksgiving happens to fall so late this year (and retailers seem to compete more every year for consumers' business) I've seen some great deals pop up so I've taken advantage of them.  I have two people checked off my list plus a gift for Mark!  I'm never, ever going to be the kind of person who starts shopping over the summer (I know plenty of people who do, and I get it to a certain extent, I guess), but look at procrastinator-me being all proactive and on top of things.  ::pats self on back::


Happy Friday!

Santa Baby

I've been an awful good girl and if Santa really wanted to reward me, here's what he'd bring:

A Sihouette

And the creative talent to use it properly to create super cool crafts!


Jewlery, of course:

Maybe a cute Mother's-style Necklace to go with the braclet Mark gave me when we had Jack.

Or a monogram necklace

Or, how about this cute little guy?

I like the owls!

A cupcake necklace

Anything by Dogeared

Some ultra-luxious handmade, good for you soap

Oatmeal, Milk, and Honey Olive Oil & Shea Butter Soap - YUM!


A detoxifying facial masque

Pumpkin Spice Cupcake Organic Body Sugar Scrub

Now that we're all clean and smelling good we should turn our attention to the home. 


Soy Wax Melts

Maybe in Butter Rum Cappucino, Pumpkin Pie Spice, or Cinnamon Vanilla

And for a more warm, cozy feeling Sugar 'N Spice Candles

I've personally tried her candles (the Pumpkin Spice is the best Pumpkiny/Fall scented candle I've ever tried!) and not only are they quality, but she's local and they're a good price.  I highly recommend and I can't wait to get my hands on some more of her goodies!


Now, to the kitchen!

Every baker needs a cute Cupcake Apron

I die.  I just die!  I've been drooling over this adorable thing for a while!

Or this one.  It's super cute too!


A Roul'Pat for handling doughs

I have a Silpat, which I love, but a whole set of them in varying sizes would be awesome!

And of course, some more quality Baking Sheets to put them on

An awesome Stoneware Pie Plate

And a Loaf Pan

And as long as we're making a wish list here, I could really use a full set of Stoneware :)


A large Pizza Stone for bread and pizza making!

And a Pizza Peel to go with it.

And a few other miscellanous things:


An adorable Gussy Wristlet

Or anything Gussy really, I love the ruffles!


A super cute, 2011 Planner

A darling Camera Strap

To be used with a Canon Rebel DSLR

That will come to me along with the talent to utilize such an awesome camera!


And of course, if Santa really did bring me all this, I'd also need a new house to keep it all in!

Merry Christmas to ME!

A Hidden Cost of Parenthood

When I was pregnant people had lots of warnings to share with me.  I heard all about the horrors of parenthood: sleepless nights, crying baby, loveless marriages, the end of your life.  It's actually amazing anyone voluntarily has kids with all the negative stuff people were intent on preaching to me about!  Can we say scary?! 

Let me just debunk the aforementioned rumors while I'm here - parenthood is a privilege.  Minus the first 2 weeks which were very life altering and a challenge to get through, I have nothing negative to report.  I know that I'm lucky in that, but I can't help but feel that people often over exaggerate while lamenting on the horrors of parenthood. 

Now, something that would have been nice to hear, but was never told to me:  batteries.  They are expensive and they are a necessity!  EVERYTHING takes batteries.  You know how some people stockpile diapers while pregnant in preparation for baby?  I say no!  Walk past the aisles of diapers and get thee straight to the electronics department to buy stock in batteries! 

Again, while pregnant I heard parents bemoan about the cost of diapers, clothes, formula, and all the other "necessities" when you have a child.  But no one mentioned the cost of batteries!  Or the fact that they die quickly! 

The most important thing in our house right now is Jack's swing.  Since he was about 2 weeks old he has been sleeping in his swing which flattens out into somewhat of a bassinet.  This thing has been a savior.  And as long as he's happy sleeping in it, I'm fine with it!  However, that thing eats batteries like nothing I've never seen before! 

The swing takes (4) D-batteries at a time.  To run it about 3 - 4 hours a day we drain the batteries about every 2 weeks.  This adds up to a cost of approximately $16 - $18 per month.  Of course this doesn't break the bank, but when you look at it over the course of a year it adds up to $192 - $216.  That's quite a chunk of money.  And add to that all the other batteries you need for the baby monitor, the bouncy seat, the flashy-singing thing on the play gym/mat, etc.  It really starts to add up to be a hidden expense!

I've thought about purchasing rechargeable batteries, but they're more expensive, I'm not sure that they even make them in D's, and I've heard negative things about them no longer holding a charge if you have to recharge them frequently.  So I guess we'll have to stick with buying new batteries every 2 weeks for now! 

Next time I go to a baby shower and I want to gift something useful I'm including some packs of batteries.  The momma to be will surely thank me later!

Loving the Moby!

We got a Moby Wrap a few weeks ago and both Jack and I LOVE it!

For those who don't know it's a baby carrier, but it's unique in that it's 100% cotton cloth that you wrap around you and the baby. It can be used for multiple holds and is so verstile. Something that I really love is that I can get Jack nice and tucked in and supported if he wants to sleep while I'm wearing him. This carrier is great for babies from newborns - 35 pounds.

Here we are trying it out for the first time.

This is Jack looking on curiously as I attempt to wrap the fabric around myself properly. Clearly he is saying, "What are we going to do with THAT thing?".


Okay, all wrapped up and settled in. It's really not hard to get on.


And 5-4-3-2-1... sleeping babe! This is usually how putting Jack in the Moby ends up. It's comforting to both of us to have him so close.

I would totally recommend this to any mom. It's comfy, easy to wear, and any mom knows that having the use of both hands at the same time is priceless!

Also, if you are willing to put forth a bit of effort they are easy to DIY. Here is a link to some helpful instructions.

Now, for some developmental updates!

Jack is really beginning to take notice of things hanging over his head like the toys on his bouncy seat, the ceiling fan, the toys on his play gym, and even the monkey that we have hanging over his changing table! He is also starting to completely turn his head to follow you with his eyes if you are moving across the room.

He loves when you talk and sing to him and he's starting to try to talk and coo. I also think he really wants to laugh, but just isn't there yet! He's definitely working on finding his voice and it's the cutest thing. As always, Jack is still a super smiley baby who can't help but light up at a familiar face or voice.

He is really starting to notice his own hands and feet. I love to watch him as he sits in his bouncy seat watching as his legs kick, kick, KICK! This keeps him entertained for a period of time. He's also starting to put his hand in his mouth. The last couple of days I've heard him wake up sucking on his hand. He does this a lot when he's hungry and always has, but he seems to now be actually putting his hand in his mouth vs. it just ending up there as he's moving his head around looking for something to suck on.

Last week I started trying to put him down in his crib for naps. Currently, he's sleeping at night in a swing in our room because that's what has worked well for us since he was about 2 or 3 weeks old. We are planning to co-sleep like this as long as it works for all of us and I really enjoy having him close at night. At the same time, I want to transition him to his crib when the time is right. This is why we have started to feel it out. I have faith that Jack will let us know when the time is right for him to make the move.

Naps in the crib are not working out very well. Jack is a champion sleeper at night, but he doesn't like to nap at all. For this reason, naps in the crib aren't working out because he usually just cat naps during the day anyway. He'll fall asleep on my lap or in his bouncy seat for 15 or 20 minutes a few times during the afternoon. It seems that he won't sleep any longer in his crib, but I hope by putting him there it's at least giving him a chance to get comfortable with his bed. We put a lot of planning and effort into his nursery and I really want him to like it and feel comfortable there!

This weekend on Friday and Saturday nights we attempted putting him to sleep in his crib. He usually finishes up his last bottle somewhere between 9.30 and 10.30pm and then is out until 3 to 4am, wakes up for a bottle and diaper change, and then is back to sleep until anywhere from 7.30-9.30am. Well, he wouldn't sleep for any length of time in his crib. He just woke right back up and needed to be soothed back to sleep so we felt that it wasn't the right time to make the transition.

Jack is back to sleeping in his swing for now, but I plan to keep putting him in the crib during the week for naps to help him get assimilated. We'll probably try to put him in his own bed for the night again this weekend just to see how it goes.