Midwest Road Trip Leg 3 - The Final Chapter

I know it has taken me a long time to finish my Midwest Road Trip wrap up, but I took A LOT of photos.  I said to Megan today, I'm not sure I can be a professional photographer because editing takes me FOREVER!  She assured me I could do it if I was getting paid.  She's probably right.  Anyways, back from that little tangent...

 4 photos of my independent baby that I compiled and framed...I'm trying to expand my skills!

Meg, Samson, Kayla and I headed up to Milwaukee on Thursday morning.  Kayla's car seat was inclined a bit too far while it was positioned behind the passenger seat, causing her head to droop forward whenever she fell asleep and Meg hit the gas a little too hard.  When we got up to Milwaukee, we decided for the rest of the trip, we would try a new configuration involving me with Kayla in the middle of the backseat, and Samson in the front passenger seat with the seat reclined a bit.  We figured this might be better for all.  Samson might be calmer if he was up front with her and I could watch and entertain Kayla.

We got up to our aunt MEMs house, ate some Culver's (mmmm...fried cheese curd), and had a relatively relaxing afternoon.  Thursday night, my aunt Karen wanted to set up Meg with one of her coworkers.  She (Karen) had convinced him to meet us out for drinks...us being both my aunts, both my sisters and I.  I told her I really hoped she had warned him to bring some male friends, because he was going to be overwhelmed with estrogen.  We got to the bar only to find out it was Ladies' Night!!!  This means FREE (yes I said free) Smirnoff mixed drinks and martinis, and free tap beer and wines for a whole hour and a half!!  We were thrilled.  The five of us had a really great time drinking and chatting and stalking Karen's coworker before he got there from the Brewer's game.  We met Lauren's friend Xai, and the guy ended up being really nice and tolerant of our antics.  I felt kinda bad for him since we had already been drinking a bit and we were a little rowdy (it's easy to get like that with a close family!)  All in all, a really fun night, even if nothing comes of it!  Unfortunately, I have no pictures from this event!

Friday, MEM, Kayla and I took a quick trip to Marquette so MEM could pick up some (more) free stuff for us. :)  And so Kayla could meet some of the staff who are friends with MEM.  When we walked into the gym, I had the pleasure of meeting Steve Novak who plays in the NBA and played at Marquette.  He was super nice, and loved Kayla.  He said his one year old son would just love her....hmmm...another set up? :)  After the morning trip, if I remember correctly (remember it was a while ago) Lauren and Megan played some Michael Jackson: The Experience with our cousins Renata and Ewelina.  (By the way, that game is awesome!)  Then we rested up to get ready for a weekend filled with activity.

Saturday was Dad's birthday, so he, Mom and Brendan drove up for the weekend.  We had some lunch at Grammy and Papa's and then most of us made our way to Summerfest (only the most amazing musical set up in the country...well kinda.)  If you live in the area and have never been you are really missing out!  We parked in the historic Third Ward and walked toward the park grounds.

 Some Third Ward photography with some HDR editing in Photoshop

Walking to Summerfest through the historic Third Ward

More old style scenery

We walked around, ate, and tried to keep Kayla happy toward the end of the day.

Milwaukee Skyline from the Summerfest grounds

Shoreline

My mom will probably hate this picture, but she was so wonderful pushing Kayla around all day.  It was so hot!  Plus...doesn't she NOT look old enough to be a GiGi?

We took a photo with the Bratwurst:

We also rode the SkyRide.

I love Photoshop!

That night we just rested up so Megan and Lauren could be ready for their half marathon in the morning.

Sunday morning, Justin, Brendan, Kayla and I got ready to head over to the race finish.  We ended up waiting for a couple hours in the hot weather to see Aunt Meg and Aunt Lauren at the finish line.  I started to get a little worried about them because it was so hot out, but then my Aunt told me that the race crew RAN OUT OF WATER and was making encouraging people to stop and walk.  Seriously???  I mean you know how many people are in the race and you know how many water stops there are...I feel like this is the LAST thing you should run out of.  So while we waited...I took a bunch of photos from afar.

Kayla and her Papa

With GiGi

With Papa & Gigi

Everyone took turns holding Kayla because she's a hot box...and it was already hot! With Great Aunt MEM

And she made a new friend

I feel the need to point out I took two really similar photos and merged them to create this so I had the best version of everyone!

And I took photos of the scenery:

And then...there they were...looking tired but still running!

Then I took a photo of my sisters, who I am so proud of!!!

I used HDR processing on this one because I wanted to highlight their sweat and how hard they worked!  I'm not sure I LOVE it, but it's kinda cool.  

Here is the original (edited but not with HDR processing)

We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing, and I took more photos.  Some of Kayla in her Aunt Meg trademarked onesie...#1 cheerleader.

And some of Great Aunt MEM and Kayla in her adorable gingham MU dress.

And in the morning, Meg, Samson, Kayla and I took the long trip home, running away from some big storms, in our new car configuration.  This worked out better we though than the way up, but it's still is a long trip toward the end.  

I can't wait to see my family again.

Check off #16

#16: Create a DIY "piggy bank" of sorts for savings.


This past weekend, Megan and I were pretty determined to figure out what we were going to use as piggy banks, since we were completing tasks and had nowhere to stash our cash (well our theoretical cash...)  Megan came up with the idea of using apothecary jars.  Megan's a lot more creative than I am so I just usually go along with her when it comes to these sorts of things.

We went to Michael's (my absolute favorite scrapbooking store...angels sing when I walk into the Martha aisle) armed with 40% coupons in search of the perfect apothecary jars to store our savings.  We finally got through the scrapbooking aisles and came to the vases and other sorts of jars aisle -that's what I call it.  I was semi-unimpressed with the assortment of shapes they had.  Megan picked up the one that was my favorite, but that's a stretch since I wasn't sold on any of them.  As I was trying to decide, Megan said "Oh here's a different one..."  I looked toward her and she pulled this beauty off the shelf.

I do not have my savings in cash yet, so I decided to fill my jar with some hair ties and a few ribbons...just cause.

It's like it was meant for me, I love it.  And when I got home, I searched DIY apothecary decorations and came up with some awesome things you can do with apothecary jars.  You can bet I will be going back to Michael's to purchase a few more when we get settled somewhere to decorate our eventual home.

I also purchased K, M, and H initial letters to eventually decorate a nursery whenever we get settled...ugh please let it be soon.  So for one large glass apothecary jar and 3 large initial wall hangings and a 40% off one item coupon, I spent a total of $15...I love Michael's.

Next week, I will hopefully be checking some exciting off my list! :)

Weddings

This weekend was our friends Frank and Lauren's wedding weekend.  Frank went to Tech with Justin and some of our other close friends.  Let me tell you, these boys are crazy, but I love them.

If I recall correctly, I met most of them at our other friends Jon and Therese's wedding 5 years ago.  Justin was in Jon's wedding and Jon was in ours.  I may have met some of the guys at a house party when Jon and Justin lived together in college, but let's be honest...I don't exactly remember all the details from college! :)  I have so many fond memories of the few times we all can get together and this weekend was no exception.

I had given Lauren the name of our DJ and photographer.  I remembered giving her Rachel's name (RMN photography is AMAZING!  Like her on Facebook!!), but I didn't remember giving her DJ Mike's name.  When we walked in, Justin noticed they were using our DJ as well.  I asked Justin if he was going to say hello, and then said, "If he remembers us, you know our wedding was fun!"  Justin said, "He probably does hundreds of weddings each year."  To which I responded, "I know, that's why if he remembers US you know it was a good time!"  When we were waiting in the receiving line, DJ Mike came up and said hello and thanked us for giving Lauren and Frank his name.

We were able to chat for a few minutes with Rachel, who was telling us that she and DJ Mike were trying to figure out where they knew each other, and then they came up with our names.  It feels nice they remembered us, and I'm really so happy to get them more business, since they are both wonderful!

Anyways, the wedding was so much fun!  Yes, it was hot, but seeing friends we hardly get to see, dancing and laughing at the good times is worth every degree!  Unfortunately, I didn't take too many photos, but I did get a few good videos on my iPhone, of the crazy dancing of course.  I have a sad feeling this may be one of the last times for awhile we will get to be with all those people at the same time, so I'm going to relish in every memory of the weekend for now.  And, even though I made friends with rum, bourbon, red wine, white wine, Corona and Heineken, I still remember every second and felt wonderful afterwards!!!

A picture of most of the boys on my iPhone

Some video of the bride and groom and some of our friends dancing to some MJ...classic

I found this dance circle to Footloose hilarious

The boys do this Bobsled thing at each others wedding...I probably could go back in time and pull up photos from previous weddings

Ok I wasn't going to do it, but I found this photo from Jon/Therese wedding so easily...

I can't wait to see the photos Rachel took!  For now, I'll leave you with one of my favorite photos of my then boyfriend and our friend Jack I took at Jon and Therese's wedding 5 short years ago.  Every time we see Jack, we whip out this photo! :)

Newborn Niceties

I have a long list of blog drafts to write and upload this week - wedding festivities this past weekend, 101 list checked off item, pet peeves, etc.  But, I have a high school friend who is expecting and I seem to have turned onto cloth diapers, YIPPEE! :)  And since I love to be a know-it-all in all things I know ;) I wanted to do some research on newborn cloth dipes - for her, my other readers interested, and really my future reference!

First, a quick update on my cloth diapering.  I have tried one Ragababe all-in-one diaper and an Apple Cheeks swim diaper since my last CD post.

The Apple Cheeks swim diaper is super great: a great green color, really thin so water (and pee) just flow right through it (this is normal in swim reusable diapers) and easy to snap in the front.  They come in 2 sizes and for now, Kayla fits into a small.  I will probably need to buy a new diaper next year (and maybe for our family trip to Hawaii in 3 months...woohoo!)

The Ragababe is so far my most favorite diaper.  It's an awesome aqua color; it's easy to close with the hook and loop closure, it's REALLY trim and super absorbent.  So far, I have no cons about this awesome diaper, except for the fact that they are impossible to get my CD addict hands on!!!  If you recall my post from the end of June, I couldn't even refresh the page to buy any at the last stocking, however, last night I scored 2 more all-in-ones!!  I'm hoping for a few more in the near future to review!

I also have started to try using cloth wipes.  I bought some Ragababe wipes (you can most definitely make your own and save some money but I kinda wanted to try these).  I made my own solution with water, baby shampoo/wash and olive oil/baby oil.  I actually didn't have the oil at first (it's to help the wipe glide over baby's bottom easier) which caused Kayla to have some serious redness.  So far I find cloth wipes to be easier to use with cloth diapers since I just toss them in the laundry with my diapers.  I will update my cloth diapering page as soon as I get some time.  

Ok, onto the newborn cloth diaper research.  I have tried to post some links (some to pages with reviews) and if you don't want to read through all my crap, scroll down to the links below to dirty diaper laundry video reviews!

All-in-one diapers: no stuffing (for the most part) most similar to disposables, need to buy sizes as baby grows. (NB diapers recommended to me are in BLUE.)

1. Ragababe NB AIO (newborn all-in-one): I honestly think these might be the best to buy.  They are very absorbent and trim and very easy to use.  There is a pocket if you need/want to have extra stuffing for overnight or a heavy wetter.  A big downer to these diapers is that they are pricey and basically impossible to get at this moment in time, until Joy and the RagaTeam are able to increase their production and open up full time.  Link
2. Bumgenius XS: I have BGs one size diapers.  I like them but they wouldn't be small enough for a newborn I don't think depending on baby's size.  Link
3. GroVia NB AIO:  Again, I have a GroVia one size hybrid diaper and I love it, but I can't speak about these diapers in particular. Link 
4. Rumparooz Lil Joeys:  Again, I have a rumparooz one size diaper.  I like it because it has internal gussets.  Lots of moms LOVE this lil joey diaper (it has a snap down for the cord.)  Link

Pocket NBs:  have to stuff an insert in, may be quite difficult to stuff those tiny pockets, AIOs probably easier for NBs.

1. Fuzzibunz XS:  Another CD mom favorite is fuzzibunz..I think the biggest downfall would be stuffing the teeny tiny pocket.  Link
2. Thirsties Duo Size 1: I literally know hardly anything about this diaper but tons of people like their Thirsties. Link

Other dipes:

1. Kissaluvs Size 0 with cover:  I think when I CD my next baby I'll probably get some fitteds or flats with covers for that newborn phase since I have mostly one size diapers or diaper that grow with baby for once they get bigger.  Link
2. Sustainable Babyish fitted or flats with cover:  see above!  Link
3. Ragababe 2-step size 0:  This diaper will grow with the baby at least a little bit, and you already know my love hate relationship with RagaBabe. :) Link

Sometimes I feel like I have too much to say about cloth diapers and it comes out making no sense at all. So if you got anything from the above...congratulations you are probably the only one! :)  I have linked some awesome reviews below but here's what I would probably recommend/what I will probably do.

I would definitely stick with all-in-one diapers and/or fitted/flats with covers for a newborn.  You will be changing their diaper so often and they are so tiny that I think all-in-ones would probably be the easiest.  Put it on, take it off, toss it in the laundry.  No extra fuss or anything with that.  Flats/prefolds can be great however because you can fold them to whatever size you want and slap a cover over them.  Also, later on you can use them as burp rags or as inserts to other diapers and covers you have!

I really can't do this review justice without linking you to these amazing reviews at dirtydiaperlaundry.com (a great blog).  They did an extensive (and I mean extensive review) you can see here and here.  These reviews are seriously awesome.  She talks about whether or not they are cord friendly, leaks/absorbency, overall rating and whether she would use them again and THEN she discusses the diapers versus their one size counterparts.  I would definitely say though that all babies are different with cloth diapering too.  A diaper that works well for my baby might not work as well for yours based on their size - thighs, skinny/chubbiness, length of torso, etc.

Please leave me a comment, message me, whatever if you have any questions.  I seriously love talking about cloth diapering and if I don't immediately know the answer to your question or what to tell you, I'll gladly point you in the right direction on where to find the answer after I do some research!!! :)

6 month MD update

Weight: 15 pounds 2 ounces (according to nurse, somewhere between the 25th and 50th percentile, according to google about the 32nd percentile)

Length:  26 1/4 inches (according to nurse, somewhere between the 50th and 75th percentile, according to google about the 67th percentile)

Head Circumference: 17 1/4 inches (according to nurse, somewhere between the 75th and 90th percentiles, according to google about the 84th percentile) Thanks Dad

Sleep: Sleep is seriously the biggest challenge as a parent.  We sleep trained Kayla, did everything we could think of and everything everyone suggested, and it seems she started out a great sleeper and for some reason now is just not a good sleeper.  She falls asleep without any "sleep aids."  We put her down drowsy but awake (and sometimes wide awake).  We try to let her cry a bit if she wakes up too soon (i.e. at 11:30 pm or after a 30-45 min nap), but she NEVER goes back to sleep.  Ok maybe like once or twice she has.  We tried dream feeding.  I don't use cloth diapers at night for fear she will soak through it so fast (and considering the last two nights we've had to change her in the middle of the night it's not an unfounded fear.)  We've tried everything, and according to all the sleep stuff I've read, she "should" be sleeping through the night.  But alas, she isn't.

Nighttime sleep:  Was still waking up 2-3 times to feed her.  About 1-2 weeks ago we put up her crib in a different room in hopes she would sleep better.  It was pretty awful for 2-3 nights, but after that she was only waking up once to eat.  The past 2 nights she's been up 4 and 3 times respectively, who the hell knows why.  At the doctors, Theresa (our NP) said that if she only eats for 5 minutes she may just need to eat at night (which is what I've been saying.)  She suggested we start upping her solids, and that may help with sleeping too.  I guess if I want to continue to breastfeed I should just be resigned to the fast I'll be getting up with her at night for awhile.  She's just a long skinny baby who needs to eat.

Napping:  After we sleep trained her, napping got really good.  I forced her into a 3 nap schedule and 2/3 naps were an hour 45 min to 2 hrs+ and one nap was around an hour.  About 2 weeks ago (probably after our Midwest road trip) she just is a really bad napper again.  Sometimes naps are only 30 to 45 minutes again.  I was trying to get down to 2 naps but I just don't think that's going to work right now.  I'm pretty sure any mom that says their infant is on a very rigid schedule is full of shit, but maybe I just have a baby who isn't interested in routine - a real downer for this organized scheduled mommy.  But alas, it is what it is.

Milestones:  So I've already mentioned this but Kayla got two teeth within 1 day of each other, learned to sit on her own, crawl and pull to stand on anything and everything she sees in the past 3 weeks really.  So lots is happening.  She is a lot more vocal now (sometimes I think she accidentally says "mama" while she is fussing in her crib before falling asleep - and a couple other people have mentioned this as well.)  She likes to "pop" her lips (hard to explain) and blow raspberries which is just hilarious.  She's been a little more fussy than normal, but I'm guessing it's just because she wants what she wants but can't really get it yet.  So I just let her fuss a bit.

Hopefully soon our family will be going through some big changes like Kayla is!
I tried to get some photos this month of her the new positions she can get in, but she was so fussy and it was nearly impossible to get any good shots.  Here's what I came up with so far!

NMM 7/25/11

Keep a calendar handy to jot down those precious things your baby does. 

Years from now you'll be glad you did.

(And so will your baby!)

I wish I would have been more careful and organized about this one.  I think my blog is a wonderful way to look back on my pregnancy and motherhood up until this point.  And one of these days I'll start making a Kayla's scrapbook with the items my little sister got me for my baby shower.  And I guess I do take the monthly photos of Kayla so that's a nice way to document her growth.  Sometimes I wish I had a more creative idea of a way to keep track of all the little things: like the day that she first smiled for real, the day she first babbled or blew raspberries with her lips, or started army crawling.  I have a vague recollection of the dates but nothing exact.  If I knew the exact dates I could probably come up with some great do-it-yourself project for myself (or find one online).  Maybe I'll just see if I can look back and remember the approximate dates and come up with some sort of "milestone book."

Stay tuned later today after our doctor's appointment for an update (and maybe even a third post today!)  I also have updated some photos on our SmugMug page, and updated my 101 in 1,001 page (to include a link to Lauren's list), and hopefully when I get a chance I'll update my cloth diapering page with a few more reviews!!  Happy Monday!

I know this photo is blurry and I haven't even attempted an edit but I just love it! :)

1/2 Birthday!

Kayla is 6 months old today.

We have been through so much together and I couldn't be prouder of us.  The word pride takes on a new meaning when you have a baby.  Everything they do makes you so thrilled to have created this person.

But honestly, as proud as I am of Kayla for learning to sit, crawl and pull to stand in the past 20 days, I'm equally as proud of myself for (so far) raising such a smiley happy baby who brings joy to my heart every day.  She is admittedly not the best sleeper, and sometimes she screams bloody murder at me for no reason, but I successfully didn't kill her.  I've never been so proud of anything in my life (and not just because I didn't kill her :)).

I love you Kayla Marie!

Birthday

6 months

Hand Sanitizer

I am SO not one of those moms that kindly asks all persons who want to touch their baby to please wash their hands first.  Granted, some people will assure me that they have washed their hands before they inquire to hold Kayla, but honestly, I really don't care.

It might sound really bad, but I think that is all unnecessary.  (Although, my all time favorite phrase for almost every facet of life is, "To each their own.")  Those moms are going to cringe when I say this...imagine like a 5 year old with their fingers in their ears screaming "la, la, la, la, la..." so they don't have to hear what I'm about to say.

I let Kayla put a large variety of things in her mouth, like large.  My iPhone, sure she loves phones.  The remote control, hey why not.  Oh, you like the sound of my keys, sure you can put them in your mouth.  Hi, friend playing with Kayla...oh she wants to put your toes in her mouth, eh fine with me just be careful, she'll probably bite them.  And the piece de resistance, "No Kayla, those are Samson's toys, not yours." "No Kayla not your toys."  "Kayla, no, those are...fine go ahead..."  (To be clear I washed off the ONE dog toy that I let Kayla put in her mouth and I put all the other ones away.)

Seriously, she's moving around way too fast and she literally touches something and puts it in her mouth in t-minus .1 seconds.  There is absolutely no way I have the energy to keep her away from everything that "they" say shouldn't go in her mouth.  It probably would help if I had some baby proofing materials at this point in time, but I don't.  And to be honest with you, I don't care that she wants to learn about everything around her using her mouth and tongue.  Because you know what, I hear about a lot of babies getting sick within their first six months, even if it's minor, and Kayla has yet to have anywhere NEAR a fever of any sort (knock on wood).  (And I vaccinate her like the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends, but don't even get me started on that- Like I said "to each their own"- unless our decisions could potentially affect my child.)  I must be doing something right.  Maybe I'm building up her immunity by letting her "taste" practically everything. :)

Audrey Hepburn

#4: Watch every movie Audrey Hepburn has starred in.

Here's the list of movies I found on IMDb:

1. Roman Holiday- 1953
2. We Go To Monte Carlo- 1953
3. Sabrina- 1954
4. War and Peace- 1956
5. Funny Face- 1957
6. Love in the Afternoon- 1957
7. Green Mansions- 1959
8. The Nun's Story- 1959
9. The Unforgiven- 1960
10. Breakfast at Tiffany's- 1961
11. The Children's Hour- 1961
12. Charade- 1963
13. Paris When It Sizzles- 1964
14. My Fair Lady- 1964
15. How to Steal a Million- 1966
16. Two for the Road- 1967
17. Wait Until Dark- 1967
18. Robin and Marian- 1976
19. Bloodline- 1979
20. They All Laughed- 1981

I've seen a few of these and am actually quite excited to see a lot of them.  I have to say, My Fair Lady is one of my favorites.  I love the book (Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw for those of you that don't know).  I did my high school senior English project on GBS and got a 99% from one of the few teachers who didn't seem to like me!  Is it sad I remember that?  I think I still have it - the project that is.

Do any of you love old movies too?

Fourth of July Midwest Road Trip Leg 2

Where:  Evanston, IL

How long: 2 days

Activities:  Walks (the theme of our trip really, Kayla got spoiled)
                
                  Hanging out with Gigi

                  Gigi feeding me my cereal and putting me to bed (to give Mommy a break)

                  Reading Glamour

                  Practicing my sitting skills

                 A lot of practicing

                 Oh, and I finally found my toes!  (This isn't entirely true. She found her toes a long time ago but hasn't really cared about them until now.  Now she's constantly grabbing them - laying, sitting, diaper changes, constantly.

Evantson wasn't as eventful as Glen Ellyn, but that's why I (Mommy) love visiting Papa and Gigi - because I get to relax a bit and we just get to be together.

Thursday morning (7/7/11) we headed up to Milwaukee for our final leg...

Check off #33

Yesterday was Aunt Meg's 29th birthday...what?!?!  I kept telling her that it's her last hoorah before 30.  I came up with, what I think is a pretty great gift idea for her from my sister, mom, grandma and I.  You can read about it here.  Then she told me she wanted to go see Harry Potter 7.2.  We had seen 7.1 around my birthday so it just seemed fitting.  She wanted to see it in IMAX 3D.

I'm glad because it can check something off my 101 list, but I'm not gonna lie, I was kinda scared.  I've been to an IMAX movie.  Justin and I went to see Eagle Eye, and all I can remember is turning to him and saying, "Holy **** the screen is huge!" and "Is it just me, or is this REALLY loud?"  Does that make me old?  Well either way, I'd heard that the 3D can make some people feel a little woozy (spelling?) and I was a little worried.

We planned to go to the 9 am showing at an AMC (a great deal of $12 instead of the whopping $16.50- seriously I used to love the movies...)  We bought tickets ahead of time but didn't think it would be that crowded.  This is what we pulled up to:

Yes, you are correct.  That is people waiting in line to get in the door at 9 am.  Part of this was because they opened the doors late, therefore they started the movie late to accommodate everyone.  Well then we were worried about seating and rightfully so.  We ended up in the second row off to the side when I turned to Meg and said, "At this point, I think I'd rather be front and center than off to the side." (A decision I think we probably were glad for later.)  So front and center we were...no less excited.

Well, the movie was great.  I'm surprised at how much I remember from the books.  I actually kinda liked the 3D (unlike Megan) and the only complaint I had was my neck hurt from sitting in the very front row.  And I'm sad the movies/books are over.  I think I would see another movie in 3D, it would have to be a particular kind of movie though, nothing with things coming out the screen at me or too much motion.  

The one thing though, since I'm an analytical person, I couldn't figure out why every time I tilted my head slightly to either side, the whole picture became blurry.  The edges were a little blurry (which made me think about aperture and depth of field in photography) but everything got blurry if I tilted my head.  Which led me on this trail of thought at the beginning of the movie:

1. Why the heck would that happen when I tilt my head?

2. Damnit, now I can't move my head in either direction.  I have to stay perfectly still with my neck craned backward.

3. I can't believe people have 3D TVs and sit in their own homes with these stupid glasses on just to watch TV.

4. Wait...why can't TV companies just add a piece of glass or whatever at the front of the TV screen made of whatever these dumb glasses are made of so people don't have to look like idiots in their own homes just watching TV?

5.  Seriously Melissa, watch the movie you just paid $12 for (on sale.)

Now, I really want to read the books again.

And I need to make a "piggy bank" so I can save the $40 from my 2 completed tasks.

NMM 7/18/11

What you didn't get right today you can practice again tomorrow.

(After all, isn't that what you will teach your little one?)

I feel like I'm making a million mistakes every day, but she's alive and kicking, I'm still breastfeeding successfully and she seems happy most of the time (maybe not the past few days but...)  I must be doing something right.  Part of what I love about being a mom is the trial and error, sort of like a puzzle for this puzzle lover! :)