Wednesday, February 23, 2011

But I waaaaaaaaaaant themmmmmmmmmm....

Have you ever seen Home Movies? If You haven't - there you go I just gave you a link, if you have any sort of sense of humor you'll thank me. I love the show. In fact, I think I will watch some tonight (aside from the BBC's Blue Planet and Planet Earth; it's the only DVD collection I own). I was first introduced to the show in 1999 when it aired on Adult Swim (Cartoon Network)- Wait- Did any of you ever experience "Adult Swim"? I did. When I was little and growing up in Colorado, not too many people had their own pools (unlike the second half of my life growing up in Florida), so we would go to public pools. Sunset and Centenntial were the closet to where we lived and every time we would go they would always have an adult swim time where all the kids had to get out of the pool and sulk while the boring adults swan laps. BORING!! Anyway- On Home Movies there are these two Characters Walter and Perry. When Walter gets excited he pulls his hair down close to his face (if you watch any of the clips he's in you'll see), sometimes when i get excited or want something I do the same thing.



Yesterday I had a Walter moment. See, my sister is getting married (hooray!!) next weekend and I have been on the lookout for shoes for the last few weeks. Yesterday during lunch I walked around the stores by my office to see what they had. I know my budget, but sometimes I like to just "see" what I would get if I could. Enter Cole Haan. Ok, so it's not the most cool, trendy or hip store around, but I do love a well made leather purse and shoe that isn't WAY over the top expensive. They had a gold peep toe pump:


Not bad. Tried it on, fit nice were comfortable. Tinkered with the idea of convincing myself I would wear them again and it would be worth the money and I wouldn't have to look for shoes anymore. But then... something caught my eye. A shoe I have been imagining in my head for months. A shoe that can be worn with anything (except a brown satin floor length bridesmaid dress). A shoe that would make me stand taller. A shoe that I would love to dance a jive in. A shoe...A shoe I could love. This is when I pulled a Walter and pulled my hair down over my face and said "Mr., THAT shoe, please get me THAT shoe in a 7 and 7 1/2". He did. I was in love. He told me he would give me $100 off if I bought both. I know where to the draw the line. I said "No Thank you! But, can I get $50 off of these bad boys?" "Why, yes you can little lady." (not the exact conversation, but close) So I did. I bought them. And guess what? I'm returning them tomorrow. I knew the whole time that that is what was going to happen. I'm ok with that. Not returning because I don't love them anymore; returning on principle. I don't need to be spending $$$ on shoes right now. Here they are:



Someday, I will get them.

Monday, February 21, 2011

I'm no Expert BUT...

I'm no baby expert. I mean Sonny is ONLY 4 months, but in that 4 months I've learned a few things. For all my friends- pregnant, trying or with little ones up to Sonny's age here is some stuff I have found very helpful.

1) You don't need 98% of baby marketed items- No baby bath (use the bath tub with a folded up towel down making it cushy, No changing station (anywhere can be your changing station, just keep all the needed items in wrapped in your changing pad we use this one and put it on the bed or floor or sofa). A wipe warmer. Nope. It gets cold by the time it reaches that baby's butt. Nursing Pillows. I tried the Boppy and the Brest Friend and didn't care for either. Some people I know love one or the other but I found it more of a hassle that a help.


2) Baby nail clippers are terrible. Cutting a baby's fingernails is difficult enough without having to introduce "safe" nail clippers into the equation. "Safe" just means dull and it takes 5,000 x's longer to cut their nails with them.


3) Nasal aspirator bulb is bad, NoseFrida is good. Sonny is constantly stuffed up and we used the bulb everyday for 2 1/2 months, then a pediatrician told me about the Nosefrida and I like it sooo much better. It is easier on us and Sonny. It isn't magic though, he still cries but not as bad.


4) Swaddle Me. We received these Aden + Anais blankets (thank you estee) and they are great for naps and other things. BUT if you want a sounder slumber then i find Swaddle Me's are the way to go. We said goodnight to Son-dini (his arm would pop out no matter how tight we wrapped him in the blankets) when we found these (thank you Marcie)


5) Bottles. When we started to give Sonny breast milk in bottles we tried a few kinds, Medela, Lifefactory and others. Our favorite though is Prince Lionheart. They are silicon and the best part is that they collapse as the babe drinks and it cuts down on the air they swallow by A LOT which = less gas. And Sonny needs that. He wears more farty pants then anyone I know.


6) Diaper cream. So annoying to find one that you like and that is readily available AND non-toxic. I rec'd a few different kinds and so far I like Angel Baby Bottom Balm. I used the Stretch oil throughout my whole pregnancy and loved it. I'm sure I would love the baby wash and lotion too, but josh doesn't like the smell (orange creamsicleish). I ordered a different brand of baby stuff earlier this week and haven't received it yet, I'll let you know how I like it later.
Ok, so say your baby get diaper rash and you don't want to put any cream on them and just want it to heal fast. Two things to use 1- breast milk. Squirt the bum with some milk and it will help a lot. 2- Organic pure coconut oil. We had some in the cooking cabinet and I read to put it on diaper rash. I tried it out on his overnight diaper and in the morning his bum was no longer red AT ALL. just pink and soft the way a baby's butt should be.


7) ANYTHING YOU PUT ON YOUR BABY- From #6 you can see I like to use natural products. I know they can get expensive BUT I do HIGHLY recommend that you check what you are using/plan on using on your baby with Skin Deep. I check everything on here and you would be surprised to see how some "green/natural" products rate. This is very important to me. I pick my battles and this is probably my number one cause. Educate yourself on what you are using.
I also like this site by a NYC Mom.
My cousin also has a really great site you should check out for baby essentials.


8) Diapers. Oh! The perils of NYC living = No washer and drier in the home. If I did have one, I would surely do cloth diapers. But I don't. and I'm too cheap to use a cloth diaper service. SO...I try all the different "green diapers". I've tried: 365, Seventh Generation, Attitude, Earth's Best, Nature Babycare and Tushies. When Sonny was size one, I liked Tushies and Nature Babycare just fine. Now that he is a little bigger though I like Seventh Generation. Tushies are the only gel-free ones. I like them, but I think Sonny is just between sizes. Size 2 runs big. And they are kinda stiff but not in a crazy kinda way. Nature Babycare is a little leaky and Attitude isn't cutting it. The last month he has only used Seventh Generation and I'm happy with that- as happy as I can be with disposables. I have some gDiapers to try when he is a little bigger; next month perhaps.


9) Get a Yoga ball. Forget the rocking chair (unless you have the space and want a fancy nursery). All you need is a yoga ball. From day one we would bounce Sonny to clam him down. It still works. You can sway, bounce and rock all on the same ball while relaxing your spine and getting a little movement yourself. It's great.


10) Clothes. This is a hard one. I love to shop for cute clothes, but they really do grow so fast and it's a pity to spend a lot on an outfit they'll wear only a week. I bought a bunch or Gerber Organic Onesie's in all sizes and the Newborn ones I hardly used. You might need 2. If they get a tiny bit of poo around the leg and you catch it soon enough, eh, NBD. No need to change the whole outfit. Size 0-3 maybe one pack depends on what other undershirts you have or how often you wash. Size 3-6 I'm using these now and Sonny wears one almost every day.
If you do want to buy super soft cute clothes (*Ok, so they are mostly bamboo and the jury is still out on the real green factor of using bamboo. Growing bamboo is "green" but the process to create a bamboo viscose may not be) then I like the following: Sckoon, Kicky Pants (i LOVE the one pieces from here), Baby Soy (the kimono onesie's are great), Katie Quinn (like the body suits). There are a few others I like and most you can find and shop for on Wilddill.com and Cutelittleclothes.com (<-- my favorite EVERY brand I just mentioned plus more are available for ordering here). 11) The Ergo. I think everyone should have an ergo.

This is part one. I'm sure I will think of other things. And if you have anything to add of your MUST haves or HAVE NOTS please PLEASE let me know.

Now here is a SHORT video of Sonny this morning with my stuffed animal from when i was a baby. He just found his inner Eagle scream yesterday.


Monday, February 14, 2011

Weekend Lessons +

I used to love grocery shopping. When I didn't live in NY I looked forward to driving to the store, taking my time going up and down every aisle and imagining what kind of food I could make with a new ingredient. Sample the cheese at the deli, dip some bread into the little dips they had out to try. Maybe get a free kids cookie. Then check out, wheel my cart filled with bagged groceries to the car, load up and head home. It was therapy. Now...Not so much. Now it's grab and go. Try not to huff and puff too much in line when I only have 3 items and the person in front of me decides to buy the store or are paying in pennies. Now, I can only buy what I can carry in one hand up 5 flights of stairs.
Take a look at the picture below. You see that grin? You see that empty HUGE clean aisle? You can sense the joy right? That was taken in December at a Harris Teeter in North Carolina. I was spinning in the aisle. SPINNING!!!! TWIRLING!! I miss you Harris Teeter.


I went off on an tangent just now, this wasn't supposed to be about that, the point here is: I am JUST now hopping on the Fresh Direct Train. I LOVE it. I ordered food last week and it was delivered- Fresh and Direct to me, even up the stairs. This happens! You order food online, in your living room (or wherever you prefer), you look at the produce ratings, check out the sales, imagine an ingredient, search for it and drop it in your cart. THEN you pay only $6 and they BRING IT TO YOU! Genius.
Anyway, these are the lessons I taught Sonny this weekend:

1) Spinach is deceitful -Don't let fresh spinach fool you when you cook it, it gets tiny
2) Melted chocolate is HOT- like lava if it touches your fingers - stay away from melted chocolate chips
3) Blow on grits and let them cool a few seconds before tasting them for salt content
4) Bed Bugs are scary - we do NOT have bedbugs. I am obsessed. Any fuzz ball in my house is a suspect. You can never be too safe.
5) Look to the left when crossing the street (and the right)

I made cookies for valentine's day tonight, if you work with me then you can have a cookie tomorrow (Apron = birthday gift from Manisha from Italy - It says "Carly, Queen of the Kitchen")



sonny being all cute





Sunday, February 6, 2011

Sponge Carly Pajama Pants

How many sponges is too many? Five? Six? Two?

I have six. In the kitchen alone. In the photo below you'll only see five, I keep the cutting block one separately to ensure there is no confusion since it matches the counter sponge.



Sponge #1: General Dishes
Sponge#2: Tough dish cleaning
Sponge #3: Pots and Pans
Sponge #4: Baby bottles, pump accessories
Sponge #5: Counters
Sponge #6: (not pictured) Island cutting block

That's normal right?