After a tweet from a
friend, I went back and updated my last post with a status of each item.
(Status meaning whether we bought it or received it as a gift, whether we would
have purchased it ourselves if we had not received it as a gift, and which
things we would consider getting used.) I’m not against used items at all and
visited yard sales weekly in the late spring and early fall. However I have
only purchased one thing from a consignment store. I find that in order to make
sure the seller and the store earn money from a sale, the prices are higher
than I am interested in paying for used items. At yard sales, I tend to pay
between 1/5 and 1/7 of the store price. Consignment gear (not counting clothes
and books here, just gear) tends to be much more than that. Most people on
Craigslist lean towards consignment prices too. They’ll advertise their price
vs the store price and think that makes it sound like a deal. (I say to them -
It is – but I have to clean and sanitize yours and if you had a dog or if you smoke
that’s too much work for me.)During the fall of 2012 when I was pregnant and
yard sales were happening, I wasn’t pregnant enough to feel safe buying things.
When it was time to register, have showers, and purchase things, it was not
yard sale season. This affected what we bought new vs used to an extent as
well.
Saturday, January 18, 2014
Baby Items Review ... (Big Item Edition) (updated)
Much like a wedding registry, a baby registry can seem overwhelming. However unlike a wedding registry, it's hard to get a grip on what you'll use if you're like me and know nothing about babies before you have one. I know that when we did our wedding registry we absolutely ignored at least 1/2 of the recommended items. Partly because we weren't having a huge wedding, partly because we didn't expect friends to pay the prices for some things the list was suggesting, and partly because we had a lot of stuff that we didn't need to get new versions of. We assumed the suggested baby list had a lot of padding too so we didn't know where to start.
I did some googling for must haves and must ignores but mostly I crowdsourced my list. My main go-to people were my coworkers. We have similar schedules, similar incomes, and similar needs as far as daycare and the fact that the babies don't spend all day every day in our homes once they reach a certain age. I also work with a lot of practical people that I thought had a reasonable thought process behind the baby gear they use and buy.
I do not follow the purchasing opinions of very many blogs, because I feel like it's a competition for who can have the coolest stuff sometimes. HOWEVER, some (in particular Baby Cheapskate) is great for figuring out the best prices to spend and when to jump on a sale if you know what you want. I often get new things for almost consignment store prices.
So here's my thoughts on what we registered for, received, were handed down, and bought (new/used) as of now, at 10.5 months.
CAR SEATS:
Infant Car Seat - Chicco Keyfit 30 - We asked for the 30 rather than the 22 so we'd have 8 more pounds until he grew out of it. Turns out he hit 30 inches way before he hit 30 pounds, but that's not true for all babies. I miss this car seat EVERY DAY. Bonus - all 3 times he puked all over it, we were able to easily take off the cover, machine wash, and drip dry. The straps weren't that easy, but it was nice that the cover was that easy. (Status: Would not consider a used one. Received as gift. Would have paid full price ourselves if we hadn't. Worth it.)
Car Seat Base - We spent the money on an extra car seat base. While it did not get used daily like the other one, it was great to have one in both cars and not have to deal with buckling the seat in every time. Especially since our 2nd car is only 2 doors. Ease is important! (Status: Would not consider a used one. Purchased at full Amazon price. Worth it.)
Convertible Car Seats - We did not buy these until he was 9 months old. Car seats have expiration dates (who knew?) and so we figured there was no point in wasting a years worth of time while they sat in a closet. We got two Britax seats (A Roundabout 50 and Marathon which will hold him until he's 70 pounds) which surprised us in the long run. All car seats have to pass the same safety tests, so you really just pay for size, comfort, and doo-dads like cup holders. We bought seats at the end of the model year around Black Friday and saved $60 on one and $100 on the other. So while I would recommend waiting a little while to buy them in general, the expiration dates are pretty far out, so if you know what you want and you see a good sale, jump on it. The real reason we went with these was for size, because we both have cars instead of SUVs. (Status: Would not consider a used one. Purchased on sale. Would not have paid full price due to cheaper reasonable alternatives.)
STROLLERS:
At times during our buying period, there were deals to get the Chicco stroller with the carseat and a base or some other great package deal. That's a stroller that turns into a useful stroller after the infant carseat days were done. I have friends who have purchased it and like it. However, almost everyone at school recommended not getting the 'system' stroller. Most of them said they wound up buying other strollers to fit their needs (an umbrella for space, a double one when the 2nd kid came, a jogging one for fun, etc.) and didn't use the system one for very long. That's the route we went and have been happy with our decision but I understand why others are happy with the other one, especially people that have space for it.
First Stroller - Chicco Keyfit Caddy - This is only useful while you have the infant car seat, but it was a lifesaver. During the months of my recovery where lifting physically hurt, I could (reliatively) easily pop the car seat from car to this thing and be on my way. We took it to California and it was super easy for that too. I needed something light, and this fit the bill. Some people think this is a waste of money because it can't be a stroller on its own, but even though this was a gift I would have spent my own money on it for ease of use. Not having to get a baby in and out of a car seat to put in a stroller is worth a lot to me. Also not having to deal with a big stroller since I have a car rather than an SUV was helpful. This could live in the trunk and other stuff could go in there too. (Status: Was a gift. If we were buying ourselves, we would have looked for one on sale or used. The time of year we needed it was not good yard sale time, but I did see some. When we heard a set of grandparents was going to buy it, we checked a couple consignment stores and it was only $10 less than new. That made it worth it to get new, to us. Worth the price for the convenience and would have purchased it new.)
Jogging Stroller - Bob Revolution - Do we need this? ABSOLUTELY NOT. It was our splurge. I got it for 50% off list price (people were actually looking for more on Craigslist when I got it on sale from Amazon) and used some Amazon gift cards people gave us. It was Mike's father's day present because he's a runner. We have used it in just as a regular stroller and it's a little bulky for that, but I would definitely bring it on a day trip instead of just an umbrella stroller. The 3 wheels make it pretty maneuverable. I researched jogging strollers for a long time before deciding to pull the trigger. One thing that was sold me was the fact that you can easily switch whether the front wheel can pivot (for regular stroller use) or not (for jogging). It's big, it would take up most of the trunk if it lived in there, and it's heavy, but we're happy with it. It will last until he's super heavy, too. (Status: purchased ourselves. Would not have paid full price. Was not willing to pay 50% list for used when I knew there were 2 sales a year that good online. Never saw a used one on sale for less than 50%.)
Umbrella Stroller - I got one at a yard sale for $10. It's simple, but has a mini canopy. Nothing exciting, but easy to keep in the car now that he's in the convertible seat. It shocks me how much stores charge for umbrella strollers. (Status: purchased ourselves. Would not have paid full price. Always planned on buying one at a yard sale.)
FURNITURE:
Crib - I had a nice one on the registry to start. But then I realized after spending $350 on the crib, we'd have to spend more money on the kit to convert it to all the things it does. That seemed silly. Cribs are another federally mandated safety thing, so I had no guilt in switching to a Graco one that was under $200 for the whole thing. It has served him well so far. (Status: received as gift. Would have purchased ourselves if not. Did not consider a used one.)
Mattress - We got one at BRU that was flippable - firm for infant, more give for toddler. Then we came home and read the reviews and they weren't good. I did more research and settled on this one. http://www.amazon.com/Safety-1st-Heavenly-Dreams-Mattress/dp/B004044LD4 I'm fascinated by it. It has held up great so far, and the best part is it's weight. I can lift it with one hand. AND IT IS SO AFFORDABLE! Baby things are like wedding things - expensive because they can be. I would recommend this to everyone. (Status: received as gift. Would have purchased ourselves if not. Did not consider a used one.)
Changing table - Ours is from the 80's. It's a dresser with space for a changing pad on top. It has been my extra dresser since I was a kid. I like the height. I like that it was free. :) (Status: Hand me down. If we had to buy one, we would have gotten an Ikea or similar dresser and cheap changing table with shelves.)
Pack n Play - These were hard to price compare. It seems like most baby items make different patterns for different stores. The patterns have also changed twice since I had the baby. I had to make sure to look at features rather than official names. We registered for one that has no bells and whistles. People told me that the changer and newborn napper didn't work for very long so we decided not to bother. He actually has only slept in this a few times, at a friends house and when we had a full house here and he was in our room. Also we used this as the bassinet in our room for the first couple weeks of his life. It's been in our family room since he was about a month old and we used it as the downstairs changing table. I eventually got tired of bending because it was an awkward height. He's been mobile for a day now, so it's possible we will drop the mattress and turn it into a playpen to contain him if we have to leave the room. (Status: received as gift. Would have purchased if didn't. Have not seen one in good shape at a yard sale for a reasonable price, but if we ever do we'll get one for the grandparents house. Consignment stores want more than I am willing to spend used.)
Gilder - We got a simple one with an ottoman from Walmart. I couldn't decide if I wanted one because this was on a lot of people's "eh" list. I am very very glad we bought it. It was only about $100 on sale last January/February (lots of baby sales then!) which is why we did it. Some of the BRU ones are over $400! I didn't want to spend on a nursery item what we could spend on a nice Lazyboy for the family room. We don't use the ottoman much now, but I did when I was nursing. This is another item that has almost the same version in many stores. The BRU one of the same brand is 3 inches wider and $300 more. Bizarre. (Status: Purchased ourselves. Considered used, but with my nose I have a hard time with upholstered things that come from elsewhere. They soak up too many scents.)
My brain hurts and morning nap time is almost over, so I'll do other items another day.
I did some googling for must haves and must ignores but mostly I crowdsourced my list. My main go-to people were my coworkers. We have similar schedules, similar incomes, and similar needs as far as daycare and the fact that the babies don't spend all day every day in our homes once they reach a certain age. I also work with a lot of practical people that I thought had a reasonable thought process behind the baby gear they use and buy.
I do not follow the purchasing opinions of very many blogs, because I feel like it's a competition for who can have the coolest stuff sometimes. HOWEVER, some (in particular Baby Cheapskate) is great for figuring out the best prices to spend and when to jump on a sale if you know what you want. I often get new things for almost consignment store prices.
So here's my thoughts on what we registered for, received, were handed down, and bought (new/used) as of now, at 10.5 months.
CAR SEATS:
Infant Car Seat - Chicco Keyfit 30 - We asked for the 30 rather than the 22 so we'd have 8 more pounds until he grew out of it. Turns out he hit 30 inches way before he hit 30 pounds, but that's not true for all babies. I miss this car seat EVERY DAY. Bonus - all 3 times he puked all over it, we were able to easily take off the cover, machine wash, and drip dry. The straps weren't that easy, but it was nice that the cover was that easy. (Status: Would not consider a used one. Received as gift. Would have paid full price ourselves if we hadn't. Worth it.)
Car Seat Base - We spent the money on an extra car seat base. While it did not get used daily like the other one, it was great to have one in both cars and not have to deal with buckling the seat in every time. Especially since our 2nd car is only 2 doors. Ease is important! (Status: Would not consider a used one. Purchased at full Amazon price. Worth it.)
Convertible Car Seats - We did not buy these until he was 9 months old. Car seats have expiration dates (who knew?) and so we figured there was no point in wasting a years worth of time while they sat in a closet. We got two Britax seats (A Roundabout 50 and Marathon which will hold him until he's 70 pounds) which surprised us in the long run. All car seats have to pass the same safety tests, so you really just pay for size, comfort, and doo-dads like cup holders. We bought seats at the end of the model year around Black Friday and saved $60 on one and $100 on the other. So while I would recommend waiting a little while to buy them in general, the expiration dates are pretty far out, so if you know what you want and you see a good sale, jump on it. The real reason we went with these was for size, because we both have cars instead of SUVs. (Status: Would not consider a used one. Purchased on sale. Would not have paid full price due to cheaper reasonable alternatives.)
STROLLERS:
At times during our buying period, there were deals to get the Chicco stroller with the carseat and a base or some other great package deal. That's a stroller that turns into a useful stroller after the infant carseat days were done. I have friends who have purchased it and like it. However, almost everyone at school recommended not getting the 'system' stroller. Most of them said they wound up buying other strollers to fit their needs (an umbrella for space, a double one when the 2nd kid came, a jogging one for fun, etc.) and didn't use the system one for very long. That's the route we went and have been happy with our decision but I understand why others are happy with the other one, especially people that have space for it.
First Stroller - Chicco Keyfit Caddy - This is only useful while you have the infant car seat, but it was a lifesaver. During the months of my recovery where lifting physically hurt, I could (reliatively) easily pop the car seat from car to this thing and be on my way. We took it to California and it was super easy for that too. I needed something light, and this fit the bill. Some people think this is a waste of money because it can't be a stroller on its own, but even though this was a gift I would have spent my own money on it for ease of use. Not having to get a baby in and out of a car seat to put in a stroller is worth a lot to me. Also not having to deal with a big stroller since I have a car rather than an SUV was helpful. This could live in the trunk and other stuff could go in there too. (Status: Was a gift. If we were buying ourselves, we would have looked for one on sale or used. The time of year we needed it was not good yard sale time, but I did see some. When we heard a set of grandparents was going to buy it, we checked a couple consignment stores and it was only $10 less than new. That made it worth it to get new, to us. Worth the price for the convenience and would have purchased it new.)
Jogging Stroller - Bob Revolution - Do we need this? ABSOLUTELY NOT. It was our splurge. I got it for 50% off list price (people were actually looking for more on Craigslist when I got it on sale from Amazon) and used some Amazon gift cards people gave us. It was Mike's father's day present because he's a runner. We have used it in just as a regular stroller and it's a little bulky for that, but I would definitely bring it on a day trip instead of just an umbrella stroller. The 3 wheels make it pretty maneuverable. I researched jogging strollers for a long time before deciding to pull the trigger. One thing that was sold me was the fact that you can easily switch whether the front wheel can pivot (for regular stroller use) or not (for jogging). It's big, it would take up most of the trunk if it lived in there, and it's heavy, but we're happy with it. It will last until he's super heavy, too. (Status: purchased ourselves. Would not have paid full price. Was not willing to pay 50% list for used when I knew there were 2 sales a year that good online. Never saw a used one on sale for less than 50%.)
Umbrella Stroller - I got one at a yard sale for $10. It's simple, but has a mini canopy. Nothing exciting, but easy to keep in the car now that he's in the convertible seat. It shocks me how much stores charge for umbrella strollers. (Status: purchased ourselves. Would not have paid full price. Always planned on buying one at a yard sale.)
FURNITURE:
Crib - I had a nice one on the registry to start. But then I realized after spending $350 on the crib, we'd have to spend more money on the kit to convert it to all the things it does. That seemed silly. Cribs are another federally mandated safety thing, so I had no guilt in switching to a Graco one that was under $200 for the whole thing. It has served him well so far. (Status: received as gift. Would have purchased ourselves if not. Did not consider a used one.)
Mattress - We got one at BRU that was flippable - firm for infant, more give for toddler. Then we came home and read the reviews and they weren't good. I did more research and settled on this one. http://www.amazon.com/Safety-1st-Heavenly-Dreams-Mattress/dp/B004044LD4 I'm fascinated by it. It has held up great so far, and the best part is it's weight. I can lift it with one hand. AND IT IS SO AFFORDABLE! Baby things are like wedding things - expensive because they can be. I would recommend this to everyone. (Status: received as gift. Would have purchased ourselves if not. Did not consider a used one.)
Changing table - Ours is from the 80's. It's a dresser with space for a changing pad on top. It has been my extra dresser since I was a kid. I like the height. I like that it was free. :) (Status: Hand me down. If we had to buy one, we would have gotten an Ikea or similar dresser and cheap changing table with shelves.)
Pack n Play - These were hard to price compare. It seems like most baby items make different patterns for different stores. The patterns have also changed twice since I had the baby. I had to make sure to look at features rather than official names. We registered for one that has no bells and whistles. People told me that the changer and newborn napper didn't work for very long so we decided not to bother. He actually has only slept in this a few times, at a friends house and when we had a full house here and he was in our room. Also we used this as the bassinet in our room for the first couple weeks of his life. It's been in our family room since he was about a month old and we used it as the downstairs changing table. I eventually got tired of bending because it was an awkward height. He's been mobile for a day now, so it's possible we will drop the mattress and turn it into a playpen to contain him if we have to leave the room. (Status: received as gift. Would have purchased if didn't. Have not seen one in good shape at a yard sale for a reasonable price, but if we ever do we'll get one for the grandparents house. Consignment stores want more than I am willing to spend used.)
Gilder - We got a simple one with an ottoman from Walmart. I couldn't decide if I wanted one because this was on a lot of people's "eh" list. I am very very glad we bought it. It was only about $100 on sale last January/February (lots of baby sales then!) which is why we did it. Some of the BRU ones are over $400! I didn't want to spend on a nursery item what we could spend on a nice Lazyboy for the family room. We don't use the ottoman much now, but I did when I was nursing. This is another item that has almost the same version in many stores. The BRU one of the same brand is 3 inches wider and $300 more. Bizarre. (Status: Purchased ourselves. Considered used, but with my nose I have a hard time with upholstered things that come from elsewhere. They soak up too many scents.)
My brain hurts and morning nap time is almost over, so I'll do other items another day.
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Nursery
A twitter post reminded me today that I never documented everything we did for our DIY nursery. Many moons ago I showed my husband a few Mario nursery pictures online and he decided from that moment that we were going to have that theme. He didn't care if we had a girl or a boy, that's what he wanted. (I was not willing to do it for a girl, and since I really didn't want to find out what we were having it almost didn't happen.) Since he talked me into finding out, and we knew a boy was in our future, I decided why not.
We couldn't afford to do the Think Geek decals and we're not artistic enough to draw a whole world scene on the walls like some people, so we had to decide how to approach it.
My googling led me to a variety of crafts including cross stitch patterns and quilts. I technically can cross stitch, but it takes me forever and I'm not very good. My mom is better and is retired, so I asked her to make that for a Christmas present.
I figured we could do something red with white polka dots to have the style of the Mario mushroom. Originally I was going to have just a red crib skirt, but I noticed in lots of pictures and people confirmed that once you drop the mattress, the crib skirt pools on the floor so I once again farmed out a job to my mom using this pattern. It ties on the mattress frame and we can adjust it so that when we drop the mattress it will still be straight and not dragging.
A friend painted a picture for us as a surprise, which was great because it gave us something big. We spent time at Lowes looking for the right "Mario Sky Blue" paint which wound up being "Beach Sparkle." Luckily I didn't have to paint - hubby and FIL did that!
While I'm sure the cross stitch picture took the most time in general, the pictures over the changing table took me the most time. I used quilt patterns I found as inspiration. I was going to make them 1" squares of paper originally, and glue them to a set of art canvas from the store. But to fit the canvas, I had to make them .75" squares. I didn't trust my ability to cut THAT MANY squares perfectly, so I used Excel to change it up a little. Instead of doing all squares, I made strips where I could. (I used cell merge on Excel so I could see what I was doing.)
Original patterns in excel using only squares:
Turned into strips:
First, I used leftover wall paint on the canvases so that any place that didn't have a picture would just blend in with the wall. I taped the strips/squares to a piece of scrapbook paper and then used modpodge to get it all together. At first it was horribly bubbly and I was sad that I had wasted all that time for it to come out lousy. But luckily as it dried it got better. It's not as good as I wish it was, but it is ok. I learned that Stampin Up cardstock's weight is much better than average stuff. The white and black cheapy paper I used caused most of the problems.
We found a stuffed coin box at Best Buy, a friend sent a stuffed mushroom, and my mom covered a small lamp and pillow with the same fabric as the bed skirt. For the curtains and shelves we used red to keep the mushroom color going. Finally, we splurged and bought the Nintendo font letters from someone on Etsy. (No longer available)
The final product! (It makes me laugh to look at these pictures from right around when he was born, because nothing is that organized now!)
The final product! (It makes me laugh to look at these pictures from right around when he was born, because nothing is that organized now!)
Sunday, January 12, 2014
10 Months (9 days late)
Size: 26 inches, 18 pounds 9.6 ounces (What, you say? He shrunk? I know. Confusing. But I'm marking it here because at his GI appt on the 8th, that's what they measured. We even had them do it again. However, even though they have a fancy measuring board, the sticker isn't the whole length so I think the sticker was put on in the wrong place. Especially since he's been over 26 inches for months in multiple offices.)
Clothes: In 9-12 months, length and arm length are ok, but baggy
Eating: 5 bottles that are about 5.5 ounces, plus 2-3 containers of stage 2 baby food. Continuing to super-spit-up anything more textured than stage 2 purees including chunky food, plain old regular not that chunky apple sauce, and puffs. The GI doctor referred us to our local Infants & Toddlers intervention program to get him checked out by an OT (occupational therapist). The goal is to get him to eat before he hates food from spitting it up all the time. Fingers crossed. Also got the go ahead to try foods with soy as an ingredient. The plan was to have him eat the real puffs instead of the everything-free organic ones we found. Since he isn't willing to actually eat puffs, that is complicated. In reality, the allergy doesn't matter as long as all he wants is stage 2 foods, but we want to know because passing the soy challenge is a step on the way to passing the dairy challenge. SO...we pulverized about 10 regular puffs with soy, added water, and fed some of that to him. Luckily it tasted good and he was game. Now we wait for a diaper to check. (It's been almost 24 hours and he isn't screaming with a tummy ache, and he slept all night, so we're hoping for the best.)
Sleeping: Still 11-12 hours at night (except on school days where I have to wake him up early, however there have been very few school days in the last 3 weeks) and a couple naps on an average day.
Physical: He started pulling himself up, but only on one knee or with one knee/leg bent at a funny angle. He gets frustrated when he tries to lean for something and then winds up on his tummy, but at least he's trying to lean for things now! He really likes to stand, either at the ottoman or the play table. (Truthfully, it's gotten better in the last couple days but it wouldn't be fair to officially document that since I"m writing late. So that will have to go in the next month's update.)
Vocal: Lots of talking, d, b, g, p, and n in consonants.
Other: Total of 6 teeth (4 on top, 2 on bottom)
Clothes: In 9-12 months, length and arm length are ok, but baggy
Eating: 5 bottles that are about 5.5 ounces, plus 2-3 containers of stage 2 baby food. Continuing to super-spit-up anything more textured than stage 2 purees including chunky food, plain old regular not that chunky apple sauce, and puffs. The GI doctor referred us to our local Infants & Toddlers intervention program to get him checked out by an OT (occupational therapist). The goal is to get him to eat before he hates food from spitting it up all the time. Fingers crossed. Also got the go ahead to try foods with soy as an ingredient. The plan was to have him eat the real puffs instead of the everything-free organic ones we found. Since he isn't willing to actually eat puffs, that is complicated. In reality, the allergy doesn't matter as long as all he wants is stage 2 foods, but we want to know because passing the soy challenge is a step on the way to passing the dairy challenge. SO...we pulverized about 10 regular puffs with soy, added water, and fed some of that to him. Luckily it tasted good and he was game. Now we wait for a diaper to check. (It's been almost 24 hours and he isn't screaming with a tummy ache, and he slept all night, so we're hoping for the best.)
Sleeping: Still 11-12 hours at night (except on school days where I have to wake him up early, however there have been very few school days in the last 3 weeks) and a couple naps on an average day.
Physical: He started pulling himself up, but only on one knee or with one knee/leg bent at a funny angle. He gets frustrated when he tries to lean for something and then winds up on his tummy, but at least he's trying to lean for things now! He really likes to stand, either at the ottoman or the play table. (Truthfully, it's gotten better in the last couple days but it wouldn't be fair to officially document that since I"m writing late. So that will have to go in the next month's update.)
Vocal: Lots of talking, d, b, g, p, and n in consonants.
Other: Total of 6 teeth (4 on top, 2 on bottom)
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
2013's Books
The 23 books I managed to squeeze in this year...Many are YA and or late elementary chapter books, but some are grown up books. I didn't have the brain power to read for much of this year. The baby was born around #5, because I remember working my way through that in small chunks. I remember reading #6 and #11 in even smaller chunks while I was nursing, attempting to hold the printed books in one hand. #20-24 were in the last couple weeks of the year when TV ended for the winter break. I watched SO much TV this fall because it was easier to do when I was exhausted from work and the baby went to bed. Hopefully next year there will be more!
1. Matched Ally Condie
1. Matched Ally Condie
2. Crossed Ally Condie
3. Reached Ally Condie
4. Someday Someday Maybe Lauren Graham
5. The Storyteller Jodi Picoult
6. Six Years Harlan Coben
7. Wonder RJ Palacio
8. Thin Space Jody Casella
9. The PS Brothers Maribeth Boelts
10. Mighty Miss Malone Christopher Paul Curtis
11. The War for Late Night Bill Carter
12. Medicine Men Extreme Appalachian Doctoring by Carolyn Jourdan
13. Looking For Me Betsy Rosenthal
14. Ungifted Gordon Korman
15. Calico Joe John Grisham
16. Heaven is Here Stephanie Nielson
17. See you at Harry's Jo Knowles
18. The Light In The Ruins Chris Bohjalian
19. Laughter, Tears, and Braids Bruce Ham
20. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz
21. Reconstructing Amelia Kimberly McCreight
22. Drama High: The Incredible True Story of a Brilliant Teacher, A Struggling Town & The Magic of Theater by Michael Sokolove
23. The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe
22. Drama High: The Incredible True Story of a Brilliant Teacher, A Struggling Town & The Magic of Theater by Michael Sokolove
23. The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe
Sunday, December 22, 2013
Wrapping Gift Cards
I'm not a huge fan of giving gift cards for presents. I enjoy thinking about and finding things I know people will like. However, I don't mind getting them ... so that makes me realize that thinking of the right gift card for someone can be a good gift in the long run. But if I do give a gift card, I like to jazz it up a little rather than just handing it to them.
Here are some of the gift card holders I made this year. While I found most of the basic ideas on Pinterest, I did tweak each of them to fit what we were giving.
Coffee cups, whether for a non-Starbucks card,
or a Starbucks card. (The light did something - I did make it cup shaped but it looks very rectangular in this picture)
This one is good for anything movie themed.
This is to a sports bar, so I used sports paper and color schemes.
This one is just a restaurant, but I liked the design so I went with it.
(It opens up like a wallet)
This one didn't photograph well, but I made the holder a little longer, with tan paper, and aluminum foil instead of designed paper...trying to go for the "burrito" look since that's where it's for.
Here are some of the gift card holders I made this year. While I found most of the basic ideas on Pinterest, I did tweak each of them to fit what we were giving.
Coffee cups, whether for a non-Starbucks card,
Saturday, December 14, 2013
9 month posting (super late, oops!)
Size : 29 3/4 inches and 17 pounds 9.6 ounces - As suspected he has grown too long for the car seat long before he grew too heavy.
Sleeping: No real changes - naps better at home than school, approximately 8p-8a on weekends, 7 or 7:30p - 6a on school days. A couple naps a day, usually a longer one and shorter one but sometimes two long or two short.
Physical: He can push himself backwards on his tummy now, but not always. The harder he tries to go forwards, the more he goes backwards. It is kind of funny. When sitting on our lap on the couch, he can launch himself to get something further down on the couch (remote, phone, cat, etc) and he can stand up holding on to things as long as we put him there and spot him. He can't lift himself to standing or sitting yet. His pincher grasp is pretty good. (About a week after the 9 month day, he managed to untie my double knotted shoe. Nobody saw it happen, so we don't know how he did it, but when we looked over he had both laces in his hands.)
Vocal: Sometimes we hear consonants - b, d, g, and starting with n. Sometimes there's raspberry sounds but not very frequently
Other: Two top teeth popped through right at the beginning of December. The week before that was rough on the eating front but we were home for Thanksgiving break so at least he got to be blah at home. He's enjoying musical toys these days like the musical mirror from Fisher Price and the Leap Frog learning table. He also likes unstacking the rings and stacking cups.
Clothes: He needs to move to 9-12 in almost everything, but only because of length. Everything is so baggy! Things are capris instead of pants, 3/4 length sleeves instead of long, and onesies are pulled tight at bottom where they snap.
Eating: Just before the 9 month day, we went through almost a week of barely any eating because of top teeth erupting. It was a long week. We're trying to move to more food slowly. The doctor recommended trying to squeeze an extra container of food into him. Unfortunately, his gag reflex is holding him back on eating whole food. It's frustrating, but he'll figure it out eventually. He currently is happy to put food in his mouth and then he immediately spits it up. We hid a couple grains of rice in a spoonful of baby squash and he gagged but kept it down. He can also occasionally keep down a small spoon of real, unsweetened applesauce. Puffs and potatoes are no-gos right now.
He now eats every stage 2 food from Gerber that we can find that doesn't have dairy or soy. That is some grains, some meats (chicken/apples, turkey/rice, chicken/rice, beef vegetable (that was a problem, we think...some kids who are allergic to the protein in milk react to beef and some don't. We think he had a mild reaction - not sure about the blood, but lots of discomfort when filling diapers) He particularly liked mango, interestingly enough.
Sleeping: No real changes - naps better at home than school, approximately 8p-8a on weekends, 7 or 7:30p - 6a on school days. A couple naps a day, usually a longer one and shorter one but sometimes two long or two short.
Physical: He can push himself backwards on his tummy now, but not always. The harder he tries to go forwards, the more he goes backwards. It is kind of funny. When sitting on our lap on the couch, he can launch himself to get something further down on the couch (remote, phone, cat, etc) and he can stand up holding on to things as long as we put him there and spot him. He can't lift himself to standing or sitting yet. His pincher grasp is pretty good. (About a week after the 9 month day, he managed to untie my double knotted shoe. Nobody saw it happen, so we don't know how he did it, but when we looked over he had both laces in his hands.)
Vocal: Sometimes we hear consonants - b, d, g, and starting with n. Sometimes there's raspberry sounds but not very frequently
Other: Two top teeth popped through right at the beginning of December. The week before that was rough on the eating front but we were home for Thanksgiving break so at least he got to be blah at home. He's enjoying musical toys these days like the musical mirror from Fisher Price and the Leap Frog learning table. He also likes unstacking the rings and stacking cups.
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