...of course

Just hours after my last post I found a website teaching you how to make your own diaper sprayer....FOR HALF THE COST!  Figures.  I should have done more reasearch prior to my purchase. 

For anyone interested, here ya go

BLAST (the poop) OFF

Ok, so some of you have asked me questions regarding my experience with cloth diapers thus far.  Today I want to talk about the art of cleaning a poopy diaper.  I am assuming poopy diapers are the #1 reason why people do not go the cloth route....and understandably so.  There's nothing fun or glamorous about it.  Kevin actually refuses to do it (for now, at least.....give him time.  I'm predicting he will clean his first poopy diaper within the next couple months).  I personally don't have a problem with it.  It's not something I look forward to, but I'm not gagging at the toilet or regretting my cloth diaper decision because of it.  It is what it is = baby poop.

Cleaning newborn breastfed poop is as easy as it comes.  You don't have to dump anything into the toilet - you just wrap the diaper up until laundry day then wash.  period.  Unfortunately for me, I didn't start cloth diapering in the newborn stage, therefore I wasn't gradually eased into the more solid poops.  I'm jumping right into peanut-buttery poop.  The in-between poop.  Some people refer to it as "teething poop".  I've never wished for solid turds as much as I do now.

As I mentioned before, I purchased flushable diaper liners when I bought the cloth diapers.  100 liners come looking like a roll of toilet paper.  You lay a liner in the diaper before you put the diaper on the baby.  When you change the diaper, if its poopy you simply dump the liner in the toilet and flush.  If the baby only peed, you can either flush the liner or wash it with the diaper and reuse it.  I can honestly say I only used a liner once and I'm not sure why I haven't used one since.  It caught about 3/4 of the poop and it really did make for an easier clean-up, but for some reason I just haven't used a liner again.  I guess I forget I have them.

For the first week or so of cloth diapering i was trying to get into a routine - trying to find a method that worked for me.  I found that swirling the diaper in the toilet while flushing was the most effective method of removing poop, though it was often a bit time consuming - especially when dealing with 8-hour old poop from daycare.

Some people will designate an item (knife, spatula-like item, etc) to be used ONLY for scraping poop off diapers.  I haven't tried this yet, but I imagine it too works wonderfully.

Your other option is a diaper sprayer.  This is one of those luxury items that you don't HAVE to have, but everyone who has one loves it and raves about it.  I didn't want to spend the money on it but after a week I decided what the heck. 

Did I mention that Trent poops an average of 3 times a day?  Sometimes only twice, sometimes 4 times.  Yeah.....I think there's a bit of a difference between swishing poopy diapers in the toilet only once a day (or less) versus 3 times a day.  With Kevin's encouraging words, I decided that getting a sprayer would be a logical "splurge" for me (I decided to splurge on a sprayer instead of new shoes, haha, j/k). 

I went ahead and purchased a bum genius diaper sprayer from abbyslane.com. There's another brand diaper sprayer, but the reviews for it weren't as good as the one I went with.  Three days after ordering, the sprayer arrived in the mail.  Kevin had it installed in literally 3 minutes.  The sprayer can be mounted on the wall (as shown in the picture) or off the side of the toilet tank.  We went with the toilet tank mount.  I love it.  I was afraid the water pressure wouldn't be strong enough to actually blast the poop into the toilet - especially not the caked on nasty poop that Trent's been putting out - but it's fantastic!  I still haven't figured out the best technique for using the sprayer and not causing something of a mess, but I'm getting better with it.  The other day I had the head facing upwards and came *this close* to spraying my face with freezing cold toilet water.  Instead the water bounced off the ceiling and hit the floor a few inches from my feet.  I keep making a mess of the toilet bowl too, but at least it's all staying inside the bowl, right?  At least, I think it's staying in the toilet.  Our floor has alot of brown colors in it, if you know what I mean.

I was only cleaning poopy diapers for a week before the sprayer arrived, but the sprayer has, of course, made the poop-removal process much easier for me on many levels.

Again, a diaper sprayer is definitely not a necessity by any means, but if you have the extra cash or if you are squeamish about cleaning poopy diapers I would recommend it to anyone and everyone.  Heck, come on over to my house and see this thing in action....I'll give you a free demonstration.  I could turn into a bit of a Gallagher show, so bring a poncho.

If you use cloth diapers, what technique do you use to remove the poop?

long weekend with my boy

Daycare was closed on Friday so I took a vacation day from work! Trent and I lounged around the house for a few hours (after getting an early start), before getting ready for the day. Once we were cleaned up and dressed we headed to the mall to do some exchanging, returning, and minor shopping. Miss Alicia and Mister Jude joined us on this little trip, and Jude got a few new pieces for his wardrobe as well. After shopping (which didn't take long) we grabbed lunch from the fancy new food court then split ways. I intended to go to JoAnn Fabrics and a few other places but Trent really needed a nap so we just went home. Once Kevin got home we all took a nice long nap (ahhh!) then headed over to the Kennedy house for a couple hours of good conversation. All in all it was a wonderful day off.

Needless to say Saturday felt like a Sunday, so when Sunday rolled around I was thrilled to NOT have work! Every weekend should be a long weekend.

We finally lowered Trent's crib!! FINALLY. He hasn't tried standing up in his crib (not that we know of, at least) but we knew it would be coming very very soon. So, Saturday night we went ahead and put it on the lowest setting. Don't you know, the very next morning Kevin found Trent sitting in his crib, and the morning after that I found him standing in it! I think it was the fact that it was lowered that helped him do these things (Megan said it was the same with Kayla), but I'm definitely glad we finally got that out of the way. Since I'm only 5'-0" it's pretty difficult for me to put Trent in the crib now....but what can you do. Even a tall person would have difficulty, I think.

Since Trent has been pulling himself up non-stop lately we decided to buy him a......well, i don't know what it's called. I guess it's alot like an old-person walker. Unfortunately it moves too fast for him on the hardwoods so I plan to play with it on the carpet upstairs and see how that goes. I will get a picture of it soon.

This walker thing doubles as a little.....well, i don't know what that part is called either - it's basically a thing for him to sit on and use his feet to push himself along - Flinstone-style. Here's a picture since my descriptions are terrible.

It's a cute little thing that makes non-intimidating lion noises.

to recommend or not to recommend

Alicia Asks: You hear all the time that all babies like different things. Some parents never use some items that other parents seem to swear by. Likewise child #1 may hate something that child #2 (in the same family) loved. What are some things you had gotten great reviews on that you personally found you never used or were a waste of money? What are some things that you swore by? What is something you hadn’t heard anything about, got anyway and wish you had/hadn’t gotten? I have been planning on posting something similar myself and would love to see what others have to say.

Answer: This is exactly why I'm almost always hesitant to recommend anything to anyone (baby related or not). Everyone is so different.

• Most people we talked to said changing tables were a waste of money and space. They all said we'd use it for the first couple weeks, at most, then start changing the baby on the floor, bed, wherever. Eight months later we still use it regularly. Granted, we don't use it EVERY time we need to change his diaper - but we use it every time we're upstairs and need to change his diaper (which on weekdays is more times than not).
  


• One item I always heard mixed reviews about was Wipe Warmers. Some say they are a godsent, others say they dry out the wipes and are a waste. I chose not to get one. Sometimes, on those cold winter days, I felt terrible wiping Trent's hiney with a cold wet wipe - but not enough to run out and buy a warmer. I doubt I'll get one in the future.
  


• Monitors. Everyone uses monitors, right? Well, we registered for, and received, two sets of monitors. One was a video monitor (we have the camera set up to look into his crib. the actual monitor/screen can be put anywhere you'd like) and a traditional set w/ 2 receivers. Well, I can honestly say we used the video monitor only a handful of times, and we used the traditional set for 1 week (the week we went on vacation). Though they don't get much use, they were extremely useful those times we DID use them. Also, I have a feeling the video monitor will get more use as Trent gets older. I will be able to check on him during naptime without worrying if i will wake him up by opening the creaky door or stepping on the loose floorboards.
  


• As I've mentioned before, I frequent thebump.com - a baby-related website that has
  chatboards, etc. I got (and still get) a lot of advice from those boards over the last year and a half....including "must register for" items and "don't waste your money" items. One of the BIG waste-of-money items for breastfeeding mothers is Bottle Warmers. When it comes time to give your baby a bottle of pumped milk, they tell you to hold the bottle under running warm water until the milk is the desired temperature. Quick, easy & "free". Well, I went ahead and registered for a bottle warmer anyway. Turns out, Trent does not like cold, cool, or luke-warm milk - he likes WARM milk. Maybe we brought this on ourselves by using the bottle warmer from the beginning, but we'll never know for sure. Linda (daycare provider) uses the old running water trick and she says it takes approximately 8 minutes to get the bottle to the temperature Trent likes. The bottle warmer takes, oh, i don't know, 1-2 minutes. I'm very glad I went against the mob and registered for/got a bottle warmer. Of course Trent rarely gets a bottle from Kevin or myself these days, but it comes in handy for the babysitters; and it came in handy when Trent was younger.
  


• Infant carrier. There are a zillion different style infant carriers out there. How is anyone supposed to know which one is right for them? Well, I just picked a style that I thought would work for me. Turned out to be a carried I really liked using. Problem is, it killed my back. I know I sound like a whiny little baby, but it is what it is. I WISH I could have used it more often and for longer periods of time, but it killed. (clarification: the carrier did not make my back hurt. my back started hurting when I was pregnant and just hasn't stopped hurting).
  


• A bit of advice to pregnant women everywhere - and women who might get pregnant...ever. Please, when you go to register for things like strollers and carseats PLEASE go to the store and play with the items first. Wheel them around, close them up, play with the features, make sure they fit in your trunk, etc. DO NOT chose a stroller based sole on "oh its pretty!!". I made that mistake myself!!!! Let me just tell you - Trent and I were out shopping one day and everything was going fine. When we were done, i put Trent and the bags in my car, then went to fold up the stroller and put it in my trunk. I couldn't get the piece of crap to collapse. No exaggeration, I was out there in the parking lot for over 5 minutes looking like a complete idiot!! Eventually I took a little break (in order to NOT turn into a psycho mother who's cursing at, and throwing, a stroller). During my breather I called Kevin and asked him not to be mad at me when we had to buy a new stroller because I left our orange one in the parking lot. That's right folks, I was *this close* to rolling the stroller right over to the cart-corral and giving it one last kick goodbye. Luckily for me (or was it?), right after I got off the phone the stroller decided it was done making a fool of me and it folded up nice and perfect. The Post Partum Gods think they are funny don't they?!
  


• The carseat inspection officer (not really an officer, I just want to make him sound official) frowned upon the rearview baby mirror we have - but i LOVE it. I understand that looking at your baby through the rearview mirror while driving can be extremely dangerous, but it's nice to have when at a stop light or what have you. I was unable to use it for a week when we went to OBX (it didn't cooperate with the vehicle we were using) and I really missed having it.
  


• Many people said Nursing Wraps were a waste of money. "Just throw a towel over your shoulder" they said. Well, I tried that at first and it was very awkward!! Eventually I bought myself this handy dandy hooter hider. I love it!
  


• Another item I loved were those swaddle blankets. In the beginning we struggled to keep Trent bundled into receiving blankets throughout the night, but those swaddle blankets were perfect. They kept him snug as a bug all night long. I have, and will continue to, recommend these to people.
  


• something I would like to have is a laundry sink. We priced them out several months ago to find out how cheap they are, and we measured our laundry room (plenty of space), but I've just been too cheap frugal to give Kevin the green light. I bring up this ordinary household item in my baby-related post because last night I had to hand scrub a very poopy onesie in my bathroom sink. I was not thrilled with the idea of A. using my bathroom sink (but i certainly wasn't going to use the kitchen sink) and B. using my hands. If we get a laundry sink I would get a faucet that has a hose attachment, allowing me to blast away the poop. If you're wondering why I didn't just go outside and use the outdoor hose......its because I didn't think of that, ok?!
  


• Here's a small penny saving tip I follow: When I was pregnant Megan taught me to buy 1 travel container of baby wipes for my diaper bag. Once all those wipes are gone, don't buy a new portable pack - no no - just jam more wipes in there. I snicker every time I stuff more wipes into my worn-out pack - like I'm sticking it to the money sucking pampers corporation (even though the wipes I'm stuffing are still pampers. They get the last laugh). Hey, I said it was a SMALL savings
  


• In doing research on breast pumps I came to the conclusion that the Medela Pump In Style was the pump for me. Anyone I spoke to who had it recommended it. At my shower I was given a different pump, and pump I just would not settle for. I went out and bought myself the $279 pump I had already picked out. Of course I used coupons and got it down to $168. Of course I was worried at first that I wouldn't like the non-returnable machine, or that I wouldn't get my money out of it - but it's safe to say, at this point, the pump has paid for itself tenfold and I do not regret the purchase at all. This is an item I would recommend to any working mother who plans to pump. (Fortunately, I haven't had any problems with the pump yet, but I was told they have wonderful customer service, which is an added bonus)
  
  
• My glider was an item I didn't jump right in to. Literally. When I was in the hospital first learning how to get Trent to latch on properly I was always sitting up in the bed with pillows propped around us. When I first got home I did much of the same. I would sit up on the couch or bed and prop pillows around me. It took me a few weeks to even sit in my brand new glider. The first few times I used the glider I didn't even like it. I felt like the baby was too high up when sitting on the boppy pillow. After just a couple days it was like a light switched was turned on. All of a sudden I was addicted to my glider. I didn't want to nurse him anyplace else. It was just so comfortable. We kept the glider in the living room while I was on maternity leave for convenience sake. When I returned to work we put the glider in the nursery. To this day I use the glider at least once a day....and it's not uncommon to see Kevin rocking Trent in the glider too. I often wonder if I should buy a second glider when it's time to decorate a second nursery - or if I should just move Trent's glider into the new room. I guess it will depend how often Trent uses his glider when that time comes.
  

retire

I think it may be time to retire my baby carrier. The official weight limit maximum is 25lbs, but Barbie's weight limit maximum is whatever Trent weighs right now -- which is less than 25. I put him in the carrier yesterday to go for a walk and, well...we didn't get very far. 2 houses down i turned around and went back home. Yesterday was also the first time I ever had him facing outward in the carrier, so maybe he felt heavier (and my back hurt worse) because his weight wasn't cuddled up to my torso, but rather it was dangling in front of me (probably not the best description, but you get what I'm saying). Either way I think its about time we hung up the carrier for now. Hopefully I'll get more use out of it with baby #2.

Here is a picture from the first time i ever used the carrier (when he was almost 2 months old), and a picture from last night.

big boy in the car

The story behind Trent's travel system is really kinda cute.

This story is going to be longer than neccessary.

Let me start by explaining what a travel system is, in case you don't know. A travel system is basically a bulky stroller that comes with an infant carseat that fits right into the stroller. It makes for an easy transition from car to stroller. see pictures. Its a genius invention..very practical for those who can't carry the baby in ones arms while out and about. Once the baby is big enough, you can use the stroller without the carseat.




Ryan and Alicia bought us out travel system. They were in the process of moving at the time, so rather than wrap the present and move it from house to house, Alicia put it together and gave it to us early (a few weeks before my shower). She handed me a set of baby teething keys - as if to say "these are the keys to your baby's new ride". It was so corny and adorable. I loved it.



The carseat that comes with all travel systems is an infant carseats. Most infant carseats are good for babies weighing anywhere between 5-22 (give or take) pounds. I believe they are intended to get the average baby through his/her first year. Well, Trent is a big guy who's quickly approaching the weight limit. At his last appointment (2 months ago i guess) he weighed it at almost 19lbs. So we finally bit the bullet and bought the next stage in carseats. This one is called a 'convertible carseat' and is good for up to 65 lbs. Convertible carseats are not meant to be taken out of the car regularly (like the infant seat is). Now whenever we take Trent out of the car we have to actually unbuckle him and leave the carseat behind, which is strange/different. The only downfall to the new carseat is that it doesn't have a sunshade - and Trent hates the sun in his face. The best part about the carseat is that it was, coincidentally, on sale. I was also able to use a coupon. In the end I saved $41 on the carseat alone! Woot Woot. In that same shopping trip I also saved $10 on diapers and I got a price adjustment of $9 on the walker we bought a couple months back. I was (and obviously still am) so proud of myself. We took the money we saved and treated ourselves to a romantic dinner from McDonalds' drive-thru.

Spellcheck is telling me that carseat is actually 2 words...but im not fixing it. I'm too lazy.

product review

Bathtime Bubble Maker



Back when I was pregnant I registered for this item. I was a little leery about registering for it at first - it's been my experience that most bubble machines end up being a big disappointment (either the fan doesn't blow strong enough winds, or the bubbles are too cheap to actually generate bubbles that last longer than .5 seconds)- but i said 'what the hay'.



I ended up receiving this bubble maker at my baby shower (a big thanks to Chrissy!). The next day I set it up - installed the batteries, poured in the bubbles - then walked away. I didn't even try it out - what was I thinking!



Stupid me didn't even use it once Trent arrived. As the months went on I guess the bubble maker turned into an accessory to the tub. One of those things you see every time you go in the room, but you don't really SEE it. Well, last week Kevin was giving Trent his bath and he yells to me to bring the camera up....Kevin finally used it!! Boy was I impressed. This thing really puts off some bubbles!!! Sadly, Trent didn't seem to notice the bubbles at all, but I kept that thing on for a good five minutes for my own entertainment. I honestly could not believe a cheap little kiddy bubble maker could put off that many of bubbles (re-reading this I realize how lame i sound...what 26 year old gets this excited over bubbles).



Unfortunately, it's hard to get a good quality photo in Trent's bathroom. I think it has to do with the insanely bright orange walls....but you get the idea.

jogging stroller

A couple weeks ago I decided I want a jogging stroller. I'm not a runner, by any means, but since I'm no longer a member of a gym I need to find another way to stay semi-active. Once in a blue moon I get inspired to go for a jog (or at least an invigorating walk) but I end up taking maggie for a short walk to the park, at most. I have to suppress the urge to go for a run if it hits me during the week because I only get so much time with an awake Trent, and I'd rather spend my time with him...which is why I decided I need a jogging stroller; so I can run and spend time with Trent. Kevin even agreed to run with us if we go out. So once I decided I wanted a jogging stroller I looked them up online. They range from $150-300 brand new!!! There is no way I'm spending that much money on an item that I already know will probably get used only a few times. I decided to send out a mass email asking if anyone was getting rid of, or selling, a jogging stroller. One of my coworkers told me she had one that she bought years ago to use with her niece and nephews. It has flat tires and she couldn't figure out how to collapse the thing so she gave it to me for free!! woot. It's an older model that doesn't offer the latest features, but it should get the job done. And I can't beat free! She brought it into work today for me. A couple engineers I work with tried to figure out how to fold it up but both were unsuccessful. Minutes later a guy a few cubicles down came over and figured it out within 30 seconds. Engineers, ha! Now that I know how to fold it up I plan to go take it to OBX with me. Maybe I'll get some inline skates and go for a roll in the mornings? Dangerous??

now, does anyone have size 7.5 inline skates I can borrow?
(why didn't i think about skates when i was yard-sale-hopping)

yard sales

Today is our neighborhoods community yard sale. We decided not to partake in the yard sale on the selling end, but as shoppers. I hit the ATM early this morning then the 4 of us walked the neighborhood stopping at several houses. So many households were selling baby things...i was pleasantly surprised. The main item I was looking for was a beach cabana. I've been looking for a beach cabana lately but haven't had any luck (surprisingly) finding one in stores. I've only been able to find them online, but since our vacation is quickly approaching I didn't want to risk ordering one and it not arriving in time. You can imagine how pleased I was when I found this at the first sale we stopped at. It's smaller than I wanted, and it doesn't offer as much privacy as I'd like (since I planned to nurse Trent in it) but it was only $10 so what the heck. I'm not much of a haggler but I kind of wish I talked her down in price. She was only charging $10 for it (which is great compared to the $40 target charges and the $80 at some websites) but I think I could have gotten it cheaper. Oh well. The woman selling it struck me as a richy rich snob....obviously not rich, as she lives in MY neighborhood, but she was very snooty and actually said, "that tent is clutch for the beach". It was hard for me to not laugh at her. Who's uses the word "clutch"? It reminded me of that blond chick in Mean Girls who kept trying to make the word "fetch" catch on.


The next house didn't have many things, but everything they did have was only $1. I couldn't resist the Timberland's. They are a size 4m so they don't fit him right now, but I'm sure he will be in them before we know it. Hopefully during the colder months.

Also, for $1 each (a $30 value)

I purchased a few picture frames for $0.50 each. I plan to spray paint them black and use them for a little project I'm working on. nothing special.

The best purchase I made was on this Leap Frog Musical Table. It sells for $45 in stores but I got it for $5. At first I wasn't sure if I should buy it or not, so I called Chrissy to get her input. She said her boys love it so I went back and got it. As I said, I'm not much of a haggler but I went ahead and asked her if she'd be willing to sell it to me for only $5 instead of the $10 it was priced at. I was psyched when she said sure!

I got this sports center from the same lady for only $5 (a $30-ish value)

The most unnecessary purchase I made was this float for $4. We already have a brand new float that we plan to use at OBX this summer but I figured it might be nice to have a spare. I mean, what if one of them gets a hole, right?

I really was astonished at how much good stuff was out there. Toys, high chairs, travel systems, stroller, etc. I even saw 2 jogging strollers that looked to be in really good condition, but I looked right past them since I have a freebie coming my way....I just hope my coworkers pulls through.

bumpers

everything you read tells you DO NOT USE BUMPERS. (You know, those cute pillow-y things that line the crib) They were first created "back in the day" because kids were putting their heads between the slats of the crib and were unable to remove them. Some possibly suffocated this way?!?! Today you wont find any crib with slats that far apart, but bumpers still come with EVERY baby bedding set. It's kind of annoying really. We aren't supposed to use them, but the bedding companies still make them. I don't see the point. I mean, I know some parents still use them - whether its because they think it looks nice, or because they just don't know the risk the bumpers pose, i don't know - but i would venture to assume that 95% of Americans don't use them. I could be totally wrong - I'm pulling that number out of thin air. Maybe I shouldn't ass-u-me.

Anyways, we recently questioned whether or not we should start using our bumpers (that have been sitting in our closet ever since we got the bedding). Now that Trent is rolling around he sometimes gets his limbs stuck in between the slats and can't always get them out. This of course leads to crying - something we like to avoid whenever possible. We don't want him getting stuck, but also want to avoid suffocating our boy, so I did some research. At first I thought Trent was old enough to where it would be OK to put the bumpers in his crib - but boy do "they" try to scare you! I found that every credible organization out there advises against the use of bumpers, no matter how old your child is. I did, however, come across an item called Breathable Baby Bumpers. It's basically a mesh-type fabric that you line the crib with (the same way as you would with bumpers). This prevents limbs from getting stuck, while also allowing your baby to breath if he gets right up against it. I'm not sure if I'm describing these correctly so here is a picture. I purchased plain brown ones. They aren't nearly as cute as the ones that came with the bedding, but it keeps his body inside the crib where it belongs and he can't suffocate into them.

So, in the end we had Trent's real bumpers in his crib for all of 30 minutes and two days later we had these breathable things in there. Everyone's happy.

Oh, and another reason not to use "normal" bumpers - when babies start pulling themselves up they can use the bumper as a step to help them jump fall climb out of the crib. Pretty soon we won't be allowed to use mobiles because the baby might start using it as a trapeze.

As for the bumpers you (or in my case, Mrs. Woodland) spent so much money on, they don't have to sit in the closet, unused! One option is to cut them down and make square pillows out of them. While you can't put these pillows in the crib, you could put them on your glider/rocking chair for looks. Another option is to take the stuffing out of the bumpers and make a nice valance that matches your bedding.

I just took 2 minutes to do a little search on yahoo to see if I could find any other options and I came across this site! If you are a mom looking for some cute ideas, check it out.

fertility troll

November of 2007 - a group of friends planned a NY City to see a show and stay the night with a friend who lived there. I decided not to go on that trip because money was tight at the Woodland house and I really just wasn't interested in the chosen show. They went. They had a good time. They got me a souvenir: a pregnant treasure troll doll. I'm not sure what made them think of me when they saw it - maybe they assumed I'd be the first to get pregnant out of the group?? I placed the troll on the shelf in our living room (conversation piece?) and a mere three months later I found out I was pregnant. We jokingly blamed the troll and dubbed it The Fertility Troll. As a joke we gave the troll to a friend on her wedding day. Three months later SHE wound up pregnant!! Coincidence? We're convinced the troll is cursed wonderfully magical. If I'm not mistaken the troll currently resides in the craft room/office of said friend just waiting for the next victim uterus to impregnate. We've given some thought to who we should pass the doll onto next, but aren't quite sure just yet.

The Woodland family has many ongoing traditions (the dreaded Christmas ball[s], the baptism box)...should the fertility troll become another one?? Christina, don't be surprised if you get it someday :-)

Not only did this troll doll get me pregnant (so much wrong with that sentence, but you know what I mean) but it also inspired my award winning (most creative) Halloween costume for 2008 (10 days before giving birth). It was a last minute decision and fairly easy to throw together. I had most of the props lying around the house. All I had to purchase were the ears & bodysuit.

generosity

my coworkers pitched in a got us a very generous gift card to babies r us! Im so grateful and surprised!!! I really didn't expect such a gift from work! It will really come in handy once the baby arrives. Im looking forward to buying gender-specific clothes and whatever else we need!

People just shock me sometimes.

the aftermath

Most of the dust has settled, or should i say most of the boxes and bags have been emptied. We spent the few days following the baby shower getting things organized and cleaned up. We still cant get over how much stuff we got at the shower (thanks again)! You are all welcome to stop by anytime if you're interested in seeing everything again, or if you just want to hang out. Here are some updated pictures of the room:

bring out the umbrellas.....

its shower time!

• when was it: Sept 14th, 1:00pm
• where was it: our house
• theme: giraffe
• forecast: sunny, 91 degrees
• hosts: moms, alicia, amy, christina

Shower planning began a few months ago. Both moms wanted to help plan the shower, as did my dear friend alicia. Christina and Amy were also asked to help out. We all decided early on that the shower would be at my and kevin's new house so that we wouldnt have to lug all the gifts from place to place, and also so everyone could see our new home for the first time. I was involved in choosing the date and time of party but that was about it. The ladies planned the shower from there.

fast forward to the day of the shower. I was going to wake up early, get ready, then leave the house so the girls could decorate, etc., but it didnt work out that way. I woke up and had some last minute stuff to do around the house. When the hostesses arrived i wasnt even showered yet. Finally i went upstairs and took my time showering and primping. By the time i was all ready the shower was just about to begin. I went downstairs, took a look around, and a few minutes later our first guests were arriving!

Thats when the mingling and eating began. oh what fun. before i knew it people were telling me to open my presents! easier said than done! there were so many presents that it was difficult to get to chair (not a bad problem to have)!!

Game #1 was played during the present-opening portion of the afternoon. It was present bingo. before i started opening the gifts everyone filled out a bingo card with the name of items they thought i would receive. the first person to get bingo won. It wasnt took long before Mary Phipps (coworker) won!

I have no idea how long it took me to open all my presents but by the time i was done i was exhausted! and had to pee - but thats so common nowadays it basically goes without question. Baby Woodland is already spoiled! We got so many presents its unbelievable. Almost everything was purchased off our registry. There were hardly any repeat gifts. And then we got a ton of gifts that were didnt register for. It looks like babies R us threw up in our house...i love it!

game #2 was the belly & ribbon game. everyone had to cut a ribbon to the size they thought my belly was. Of course the winner was my friend Joy, who is also pregnant and due only 10 days after me. go joy!

Game #3 was a random draw. Lauren won that one.

next came the cake, cupcakes & ice cream. not only was the cake adorable but delicious as well.

After the cake everyone just sat around and talked. People started leaving. Kevin came back home with his dad and brother and talked to the few remaining guests/relatives.

We decided to let maggie stay for the entire party and she was such a good girl. I was so proud of her. She did her share of begging for food, for the most part she was well behaved.

Once everyone left i was able to go through all our presents again and show kevin all the great stuff we got. We then started putting some stuff together (we dont waste any time). I took the next day off work so I could go thru everything AGAIN and start getting everything organized. I even made a trip out to Babies R Us to pick up a few things we needed using the gift cards we got.