Boy vs Girl

I never thought it would happen to us.

We did everything we could to prevent it.

We encouraged our daughter to play with toy cars, trucks, and tractors. She asked Santa for a firetruck, a semi, books and a box for Christmas last year. We wrestle in the living room and shoot her pink BB gun in the driveway. She asks to watch hunting videos on a regular basis and will talk her dolls through the calling process, asking them (and us) to be quiet. She started talking about going on dates with her boyfriend to shoot deer and turkey a few months ago. Mud puddles are splashed, words are belched (as long as it is followed with ‘excuse me’!). Until her baby sister started daycare, she was the only girl there. Her best buds are both boys.

Which is why she totally shocked me yesterday when we were picking out a video to watch. I suggested Cars, as we hadn’t seen it in a while and daddy has been watching a lot of NASCAR these past few weeks.

Her response….. “no, that’s a BOY movie.”

What. The. Heck.

Our little girl, who would run around the yard dressed in her pink tutu ballerina outfit calling owls in the neighborhood. Our baby that would request her firearm (her pink bb gun) so she could hunt the squirrels and rabbits in our yard. Our sweet little princess who gets excited over Jeeps and semis and hotrods. Our daughter that is a football fanatic and has been asking when our local high school football team starts for the past 4 months. How could our well-rounded little girl refuse to watch Cars because it was a boy movie?!?!?!

Thankfully, she came to the conclusion that while Cars is only for boys, Wayne’s World is perfectly acceptable.

Party on, Bear!

Amazing…..

Amazing.  THIS is absolutely amazing. 

Milk Bank at Saint Luke's

 

A milk bank drop off point and soon to be full-fledged milk bank in Kansas City is wonderful news to this area.  For little ones in NICU, every day they get liquid gold instead of formula helps them tremendously.  Not only does it help them get home sooner, it helps cut down on health issues years later.   If you or anyone you know are lucky enough to be a ‘massive milker’ please donate, and encourage others to donate, to this amazing cause.  If you can’t donate, spread the word. 

  

Saturday Morning Window Shopping!

Since I can’t get out to go shopping this morning, and our lovely local Wal-Mart offers so much variety (did my sarcasm font show through on that?!?!?!), I’m posting my internet shopping wish list!  Feel free to chime in with things that you want to get…also feel free to direct your spouses to the list and what you want!  (Hubby dearest, you may buy any of the items on the following list and I would be very grateful!)  While not quite as satisfying as really shopping, it’s still pretty fun!

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This Hugga-Bebe looks sooooo neat!!!!!  I’m really wanting one for Baby Bear.  I just remember the hard time we had keeping The Bear in the correct position. With Baby Bear getting ready for her Jumperoo, this is definitely on my short list of things I want!  The fact that it is mom invented just makes it even more cool!  And, it makes me wish I were creative enough to come up with something like this!

I have a love affair with Athleta clothing.  I love how they are able to make stuff with style and comfort.  I have been drooling over this swim coverup for the past 2 summers.  I love, love, love how it looks light and bouncy….and I think I could wear it with cropped pants and a tank for work if I dressed it up with some chunky jewelry.

Then there is this dress.  It really is a good thing that it doesn’t come in black, or it would already be living in my closet!  Its cotton, modal and spandex so it can be machine washed, AND it has bra strap keepers built into it!  No more straps peeking out for the world to see!  Why don’t all dresses and tops have this option?????  And don’t get me started on Athleta’s yoga gear.  Too much stuff that I drool over! 

I have been drooling over this lens for my SLR camera for quite some time.  Slowly but surely, I’m saving up my pennies, nickels, and dimes….one day, I’ll be able to pull it out of my camera bag and quit shorting out my keyboard as I drool and dream!  My goal is to own it before the girls get into sports and such.  *sigh*  I’ll probably end up getting the Tamron version for about half the price of the Nikon.  It has great reviews, but doesn’t have the VR.   But, who am I kidding……I would happily take either one!

 

I did splurge this week and purchase a new swaddler for Baby Bear.  She sleeps so well when wrapped up, but she has started to break out of her swaddle when I use receiving blankets…..and I wrap her up as tight as I possibly can!  (Thank you Dr. Karp!)  So, after quite a bit of research I landed on the Woombie.  It arrived via Diapers.com in around less than 24 hours and, as soon as it was washed, put to the test!  I had to tie the end up a little, as I ordered a size up.  She’s just 10lbs 10oz and the newborn goes to 13lbs.  I should have gotten the newborn!  Even with tying the end up, it’s too big!  Going with it for now, but hope to get a newborn size as soon as possible….I can see how it would be great if it were the right size!  Stay tuned! 

 

So, what have YOU been drooling over?  Go on a virtual shopping spree with me!  It’s like window shopping, but easier to resist the urge to make a purchase!!!!

 

 

 

 

I love the smell of baby powder in the morning!

So, The Bear made her way downstairs without waking anyone up this morning.  I didn’t realize this until I ventured down with Baby Bear.  About halfway down the stairs, it hit me.  Stronger than the scent of freshly brewed coffee, yet lighter than the stench that comes from the diaper pail.  The unmistakable scent of baby powder.  I left baby powder out on the changing table downstairs last night.  Crapiolla.

Sure enough, next to the toy/computer area I can see the cloud of dust, rising up as the early morning light streamed into the living room.  Million dollar question: Where is The Bear?

In the middle of the biggest pile of baby powder, under the computer desk,  covered from head to toe was The Bear.  She left no surface of her body untouched by powder.  Thankfully, the mess was somewhat contained to under the computer desk.   Unfortunately, there was about half of a bottle of powder in that 2’x3′ area.

Toddlers.  Without one of my own, I never would have learned that baby powder is an excellent carpet and room freshener!

Its Wednesday, So Spill It!

To help us all make it through the week, I’m starting Its Wednesday, So Spill It!  Here is how it works:

Share a happy thought. 

That’s it.  Share a happy thought. Only one is needed, but feel free to spill more if the spirit moves you.

Each week will have a different theme to follow.  This week is memories.  So, spill a memory.  It can be a big memory or a small one, a scent, a vacation, or a person.  It just has to be a happy memory.

I’ll start with a few examples to get us going!

Yesterday while grocery shopping I crossed paths with a woman who was wearing White Shoulders.  This immediately made me think of my Great-Aunt Marian.  She had the softest hands I’ve ever felt, wonderful hugs and always had on the perfect amount of White Shoulders. 

 

When I bake, I think of my Grandma Swoyer and how she taught me to sift, level off your measuring spoons and cups, you can’t cook and stay clean, and to be brave and try new recipes.  It’s almost like she is there with me when I teach The Bear how to do those things. 

 

Books.  I grew up in a house with books in every nook and cranny.  Stacked under the end table, on the coffee table, bookshelves filled to the exploding point, books everywhere.  It wasn’t uncommon for me to be reading the same book as one of my parents or for me to wait impatiently for them to finish a book so I could snag it.  I remember poring over the Barnes and Noble catalog we got in the mail (I remember when they opened a store in Topeka, KS and how excited we were to go!).  I would agonize over picking out the book, or if I was lucky books, I wanted to get.  Then there was that moment when those books came in the mail.  Opening the box to the smell of the paper and ink and then that sound as you crack the spine open for the very first time….there is nothing like it. 

 

Holding my daughters in my arms for the first time.  After the nausea, the weight gain, the swelling, the hip pain, the bedrest, the pain of labor, the moment when I looked at my girls, all of that went away. 

 

So, there are a few of my happy memories for the first Spill It day.  Your turn!  Spill your happy memory or memories!