A few of my favorite things....

A close friend of Aunt P's had a baby last week.... a beautiful and healthy baby girl. Mother and daughter are doing fine.... Dad's probably freakin' out, but.... that's to be expected, right?

After you've had a baby, lots of people look to you for advice on what a good baby gift is -- so, I thought I'd share a few of my favorite gifts..... I loved some of these so much that I gave them to other people (their own.... I didn't regift, duh!).

The Cape Buffalos gave the little man an enormous one of these with his name embroidered on it -- it was his first piece of mail. Let me tell you, this bag is so versatile -- it has served as a weekend bag and as a toy chest -- yet, no matter how much stuff you jam in there (even the awkwardly shaped stuff like toys, books, diapers and wipes), it's still compact, easy to carry and not heavy!

Aunt P got me one of these, I'll admit it -- I was skeptical. And although my kids both were able to figure out a way to propel themselves out of it..... it's a nifty little thing to have around. It works great for those early feedings when the baby's too small for the highchair -- and it's small/light enough that you can take it to Grandma's if you need to.

My cousin, who recently had a set of twins herself, sent me a set of these. Her rationale was that everyone is so focused on the baby..... she wanted to do something nice for the Mommy. These pajamas were great -- pretty, yet comfy -- and they had a built-in-nursing bra, making those late night feedings less of a hassle.

We got these 'lil guys from a neighbor of the Big Dubya's parents. At first, I thought they were kind of impractical -- the kid can't walk, what's he need shoes for? But, I was wrong. These are fantastic because they keep the socks on!!!! And, as the baby gets older and starts to stand/walk -- they keep his/her feet warm, but still give them the benefits associated with being barefoot.

A former colleague sent the 'lil man this -- and it is so lovely. It's a book, but it's also a keepsake and tells a personalized story -- I love it.

Miss America gave the 'lil man this and the 'lil lady this and they are awesome.... although, the 'lil man's favorite tag was the one with the washing instructions.....

These are a few of my favorite baby gifts...... have any you'd like to share/recommend?

It's so un-lady-like

Apples, pears, chicken wings, corn on the cob, lobster......

I hate stuff that has to be eaten with your hands -- it's just so messy and there's no polite way to do it. I'm sitting here at my desk eating an apple and it's getting EVERYWHERE.

There's another angel in heaven today

I believe in heros

Rest in Peace Professor Librescu

So.....

What do ya think of the new site??

Pretty spiffy, huh?

Thanks to the Big Dubya for all his hard work....

Guess What Aunt P and I learned today?

So, Aunt P and I were chatting on the phone today.... she mentioned that she had used her extended car ride as an opportunity to return a phone call to her mother-in-law. I found that kind of funny because when my mother calls our house, I speak to her -- when Dubya's mother calls -- he handles it. We rarely deal with each others' parents.

The discussion took a turn to what we call our in laws -- we both call them by their first names, whereas our husbands still call our parents Mr & Mrs........

I then commented that I wanted the 'lil Dubyas to call adults Mr & Mrs -- it's good manners. Aunt P agreed, but then said.... well, we never called this one Mr & Mrs..... or this one, or that one, or this other one. I responded that we DID call this one, that one and another Mr & Mrs. Aunt P then keenly observed that we called friends of our parents by their first names, but parents of our friends Mr & Mrs. This seemed to make sense.... until we realized that the children of our parents' friends called our parents Mr & Mrs while we called their parents by their first names.

OH MY GOD!
WE WERE RAISED WITH BAD MANNERS!

I'm not sure what the rule is -- or what it should be. I think the children of our very close friends should be able to call us by our first names (Miss America's Kids, Baby Buffalo, etc.). But, the friends of our children -- kids at daycare, etc. should call us Mr & Mrs.

Does that make sense?

Are there Cliff Notes for this?

So, the other day the 'lil man started gesturing that he wanted to go into the bathroom -- this is where we change his diaper -- so I assumed that he was telling me that he needed to be changed. I asked him "Did you poop?" and he said "yes" so we went into the bathroom.

I put him up on the changing pad, checked his diaper and discovered that it was both clean and dry -- so, I joked with him, called him a big faker and sent him on his way. Two minutes later, he's in the corner grunting.....

DURRRRR Mrs Big Dubya, he wasn't telling you that he HAD pooped, he was telling you that he HAD TO poop.... well gee, that never happened before.... how exciting!

I know he's young and that this might pass, but several times in the past week he's indicated that he needed use the bathroom and he's exhibited similar behavior at daycare where some of the older kids are currently in the throws of potty-training. But, I don't know what to do -- I was always under the impression that kids (particularly boys) don't do this until much later.... he's only 22 months and although I'd be thrilled to leave the diaper days behind us, I've read no books on the subject..... I find myself desperate for the Cliffs Notes version... or at the very least Potty Training for Dummies.

Yesterday he asked again -- we went into the bathroom and I sat him up on the toilet -- yes, okay now I know how stupid that was, he almost fell in.

After that unsuccessful outing, I went to BabiesRUs.com to see what they had in the potty category..... oh dear. I had no idea there were so many options --

Okay, so dear readers -- HELP!!!!!

What books/products/methods have you used/found success with? And, do little boys train sitting down? and move to standing up? or do they stand from the get-go?

Our Debut Post is Up

Check out our debut post on Dad said Mom said

And tell Mr Big Dubya to give in already and agree to #3

Happy Weekend!

Anatomy of a home improvement

As has been mentioned in a few places, the Big Dubya is turning the big 4-0 in May. I asked him if he'd like a party to mark this momentous occasion, and he said no.... he'd prefer a big TV. We can't really afford to do both, so a big TV it is.... and when I say big, I mean big. If it were up to him we'd be talking about a TV like the ones they have in Times Square.

We didn't really have a suitable place to put this big TV, so we decided to stop threatening to finish the basement -- and finally pull the trigger on doing it. So, we hired a contractor and started going about the business of finishing the basement. In the middle of this project we were blessed with a daughter and because we need the space, we decided to put a spare bedroom/office in the basement (cha-ching, cha-ching) as well as a play room (a.k.a. MrBigDubya's big TV room).

As the contractor began working, he mentioned that the room would be very big and very dark -- suggesting that we put in a couple of extra windows to brighten the place up. He was right and we agreed to add them (cha-ching, cha-ching). Some days passed and the contractor called the Big Dubya at work and said he'd been thinking...... we'd add an awful lot to our resale value if we added a small bathroom as well. Of course this makes sense, so a bathroom is being added (cha-ching, cha-ching).

When the contractor learned that we were planning to get a big TV, he suggested wiring the room for surround sound.... you know, because the walls are open already anyway.

It's official -- we'll be eating Ramen Noodles for the rest of our lives..... now, I'm just wondering at what point I can start charging admission...

Anatomically Correct?

It seems like ever family has their own cutesy names for various body parts and their associated functions.

In our house it was pee-pee and poo (although Aunt A always called them woo-woos). We were not ever allowed to use the word "fart" -- oh no, that was a "bus" (I don't know... don't ask). Breasts weren't called boobs in our house, they were called "bumps" and I'm not sure we ever had a name for Dad's private part..... but another family we know called it a "pickle"

It kind of makes me wonder what we are going to teach the 'lil dubya & dubyette and what they'll call things. The 'lil man already knows that there are pee pees and poop in his diaper -- but what about the rest? He giggles uncontrollably when he "toots" -- not sure if it's the feeling back there or our reaction that causes him to crack up, but... he laughs and laughs.

The reason this all comes up is that I was on the phone with my girlfriend yesterday -- she's an RN and she recently completed a program to get her nurse practitioner's licence specializing in women's health.

I always found it funny that she uses the proper terminology when discussing the mommy-matters even amongst her non-medical friends. She'd say things like "the area around her anus was excoriated" while I'd just say something like "she has a diaper rash" or "her butt is red and irritated".

Yesterday she was telling me about her 3 year-old daughter -- although she's potty trained, she sometimes has a tough time doing a thorough wiping job. As she's explaining to me what happened, it struck me as so odd that this 3-year old is using terms like "bowel movement", "vagina" and "labia"

Anyone want to share their family's terminology?