Change of season means more baby clothes

So, fall is officially here. Yay! I love fall. The autumn season has always been a favorite of mine. It used to be that fall was something I associated with starting a new year of school, going back, something new, something fresh. But since 2000, I have happily associated fall with the beginning of my relationship with my husband, Daniel. We went on our first date on August 16th, 2000, but because he was leaving the area for his first year of college, I didn't see him after August 22nd, not again until mid-September. The following year I took tour buses and trains out to Pittsburgh to visit him, and the year after that I moved with him to Pittsburgh. Oh, and two years after that our daughter was born. And lastly, the year after THAT we conceived our son. For those still playing along, that's 2001, 2002, 2004 and 2005. ;)

Alyssa is all ready for the fall. She really hasn't grown too much since last year (just upwards!), so all of her pants from last year fit her just fine. She inherited my short legs, so at least this year most of her jeans won't be dragging the ground. I seriously have to roll up the cuffs on 90% of her pants. It's ridiculous!

Ryan, on the other hand, not so ready.... he has new shirts, about ten of them. But he needs pants. I wasn't sure what size pants he had leftover from last year, so I decided to wait on buying new ones until I checked out his drawers. Well, I went through them yesterday, and he's down to one pair of jeans and two pairs of cargo pants. Ridiculous! That kid grows too much. He was wearing 24mo/2T in the summer of 2007, here we are in the fall of 2008 and 5T fits him now. In comparison, Alyssa is wearing 5T loosely, and she's almost two years older than him. Well, that's my chunky baby.

So guess who has to go shopping for more baby clothes. Or should I say toddler clothes, since there's nothing really BABY about a whopping 5 in toddler sizes!

Psst... anyone else who has a horse-sized toddler like mine, check out eBay for onesies. I found a bunch (new! in packaging!) by Gerber that are 4T! I'm stoked!

Writing about wedding favors

You know, my poor sleep (going to bed late, waking up in the middle of the night, getting up early with the kids, napping during the day) didn’t start after having kids. It started after working from home.

When our daughter was born, I worked second shift, as did my husband. It was easy to keep our daughter on a schedule with us.
After our son was born, I learned very quickly to sleep when he slept. I coordinated the kids’ nap times so that Ryan was going down for a nap not long after Alyssa was waking up, and she was going down for her nap when Ryan was taking his second. At night, Ryan would go to bed by 9, and Alyssa would be bed at 10.

Nowadays, the problem isn’t getting the kids to nap and sleep at night, but getting myself to sleep. After they go to sleep, I all too often take advantage of the quiet to do my writing and research on wedding favors or whatever else I need to look up ezinearticles.com about. Like now. It’s 3am and I’m working. The kids will be up at 10. *cry*

Goign shopping for baby clothes

I think one of the most exciting things to shop for is a new pet or a new baby. I recently got a pug (four months old, female, beautiful, very well behaved and well mannered), and shopping for her was a lot of fun. But there's only so much to shop for for a dog. A baby, on the other hand, requires a lot of preparation! Baby furniture is just the tip of the iceberg, and even that is a lot. Cribs, playpens, strollers, car seats, high chairs... then there are the optional things like slings, baby swings, cradles, bassinets. But the fun stuff, the REALLY fun stuff, are the baby clothes, diapers, bibs, towels, and accessories like pacifiers, diaper bags and diapering essentials, breastfeeding supplies, toys and musical CDs.

When you think about it, it's amazing that there are literally thousands of items to buy for a new baby. I know we spent a decent chunk of change and time on new baby things for Alyssa. With our second child, we didn't have to get the big things, but we needed a lot of new boys clothes, since we were having a boy, and obviously he wouldn't look too good in pink or purple. ;)

What was your favorite baby purchase?

Pittsburgh loves football, that's for sure

Go Steelers! My husband and I lived in Pittsburgh for a little under two years. Actually, he lived there for three and a half years -- he moved there for college in August of 2000, and I joined him in August of 2002. We moved back home a year and a half later, just a few days before Christmas (yes, driving a uhaul from one end of the state to the other during the mad last minute holiday rush was INSANE. I promise we'll never repeat it!).

I loved Pittsburgh. It's going on five years since we left that city, and I still miss it. City life is a pain and expensive, but it's convenient and it's definitely quaint. Of course, I think I reflect more upon my memories of my husband and I together more than I do about the city, but it's still very special to me, and I would like to go back to visit.

One thing that really got me about Pittsburgh was the borderline RABIDNESS people had in terms of enthusiasm for football and the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Pittsburgh Pirates got some attention, but NOTHING like what the Steelers got. You would think it was an official holiday, the way people would dress up in nfl jerseys. The freakin' stores would even decorate, and employees (I worked at a K-Mart and a Target) would be strongly encouraged to wear the team colors (black and yellow).

Football never has been my thing, nor will it ever be. My husband enjoys it somewhat, so I'm thinking of getting him some kind of official jersey. I might even get a youth NFL jersey for our son, so they can dress up and be all GO TEAM! together.

Finding good baby clothes for boys

The best part of having a daughter is being able to dress her up in all of the great little girls clothing! I have a son as well, and I must admit that the selection of boys outfits is never as nice as what I can find for girls! Don't get me wrong, I can find nice childrens clothes for both of my kids, but the good boy stuff is few and far between. My biggest complaint with boys clothing is that everything is dark and dreary, camouflage or sports themed, or plastered with tacky illustrations and television and movie characters. Is it so wrong to want to dress your little boy is nice, sweet little boy apparel?

Now girls clothes on the other hand... a walk in the park! Last week alone I was able to find my daughter a pair of metallic silver jeans, dark blue denim jeans with silver sparkles all over them, and some great tights in the baby clothes section at Babies 'r Us.

Where do you shop for clothing for your children? I know that Gymboree and The Children's Place are often recommended, but there have to be some other nice stores as well! I love Carters clothing, but sadly their sizes don't go beyond babies!

coolstuffcheap.com

coolstuffcheap.com has some really, REALLY neat stuff. I can think of many scenarios where their fog machines and lava lamps would be perfect: dorm rooms, a teenager's room, even my three year old daughter's room (well, the lava lamp). A fog machine is a great thing to have at parties, particularly themed and Halloween parties.

The company also carries neon clocks. These are things you don't see except in bars, retro restaurants and in music videos. If you like these clocks, definitely check out coolstuffcheap.com!

The best way to buy baby clothes

So, here is my secret for shopping for baby clothes for two toddlers without breaking the bank: shop between seasons. It sounds like a strange thing to do, to wait until the end of summer before buying summer clothes, but I promise you you'll save a lot of money, and here's why: stores push the season merchandise before the season begins. This means that by the time summer is nearing an end, the retailers need to get the fall and winter clothes out on the floor. So they clearance all of the summer merchandise to get it out of the way.

Shopping between seasons for baby clothes and childrens clothes works with retail stores, specialty boutiques, and online stores like sandboxcouture.com. They key is waiting for the right time. For spring and summer clothes, check out stores in July and August. For winter clothing, check out stores in March and April.

By shopping between seasons, you'll save as much as 75% on clothes! Here's an example of what I picked up last week: four pairs of toddler girls' shorts, four tank tops, and two pairs of toddler boys' shorts. Guess how much I spent? Ready for it? $30. That's right. $30! Thanks to the items being on clearance, I spent an average of $3 per item. These clothes are normally priced anywhere from $3.99 to $12.99 each. :)

He's almost two!

My son turns two on Saturday. I would be lying if I said that these past two years haven't gone by fast. I know a lot of moms often lament that the baby and toddler days seem to drag and drag, but for me they really flew. Of course, having a busy life and another child assisted with that. My son has a sister who is going to be four in October. I also work from home. And since my son's birth, we have moved twice, dealt with a lot of family drama and changes, and have kept busy doing family things. For instance, in the last seven weeks we have gone swimming at least a dozen times, gone mini-golfing four times, have seen three movies (Hancock, Wall-E and Dark Knight), celebrated three birthdays, went to an amusement park, and went on vacation to the NJ shore.

So, two. What do two year old little boys want for their birthday? That's the question I have been getting from family and friends, and I'm having a heck of a time figuring out the answer. I mentioned clothes and/or gift certificates to a few people, simply because my son is going to need fall and winter clothing. His age really hit me then: two. Two means no more baby clothes. Two means shopping in the little boys section, graduating from 4T and 5T to x-small and 4/5.

Moms, let me tell you: the baby and toddler years go by very quickly. Make sure to stop and enjoy the little moments of them!

One of these days

In April of 2004, I realized that my engagement ring was cracked. Specifically, the band at the very bottom, at its thinnest part, had cracked through entirely. I made plans that week to call up a jeweler to find out how much it would cost to have the ring repaired, but I never got around to it.

Oh hi. Four and a half years later, and the ring is still damaged. It isn’t an issue, except the one or two times I have managed to somehow yank the engagement ring, and the two separate pieces close around and pinch my finger. Do you have ANY idea how painful that is?! Let me tell you, painful. The one incident happened in June of 2005, and I still remember the pain quite vividly, heh.

So yeah, I need to get my butt in groove and call up a jeweler. There’s a local one that advertises free repairs for mens wedding bands and womens wedding bands, so maybe he/she does engagement rings too?

Babies and baby furniture

I just finished watching The Baby Borrowers. The show has a really neat concept: set up a teenage couple in a house and hand them a baby to watch for a period of three days. The house was completely furnished with regular furniture, baby furniture and food, and once the teens got their clothes and such unpacked, their child was brought in. Obviously there were safeguards in place: a nanny available 24/7 to shadow if need be, and the parents themselves could watch what was happening in the house at all times, from another house right across the street. But generally, the teen couples were on their own with their charges.

So this week's episode featured toddlers. I can definitely sympathize with the frustration level some of the teens experienced. Toddlers ARE frustrating. And yeah, they sleep 10 - 14 hours straight, rather than the horrible little cat naps that tiny babies do, but they are SO much more active during the day.

Heh, I think this is my new favorite show. Have you seen it?

Late night babblings

I have to pee. I'm thirsty. I'm desperately craving chocolate. But I don't feel like getting up, my glass isn't within reach, and there's no chocolate in the house, and my mom has my car so I can't even go out to buy chocolate. Le sigh.

Alyssa is up. She slept late today and didn't come stumbling out until almost noon. I need to hurry up and get her into bed though, because tomorrow morning we all have to be up and ready to go out the door when Dan needs to leave for work, and that's at 11am. We need to leave a few minutes earlier, so that Dan has the time to grab his check and take it to the bank. Since we've all been sleeping in, getting up at 9:30am (me) and 10:15am (kids) is going to suck. But, sigh, we'll deal, somehow!

So, what does everyone have planned for the weekend? I plan on taking a part of my paycheck and shopping for mens rings, and paying bills. For the rings, I'm looking at titanium, but I also like tungsten rings. I know, I'm so exciting. ;)

They bore me

If you want to excite me, take me to Target. I love that I can get almost everything we need from there. The only exception is plus-size clothing for me (I'll take Fashion Bug any time!) and food beyond the basic gallon of milk, loaf of bread or frozen pizza. I'd say that 99% of Alyssa's clothing and 100% of Ryan's clothing came from Target. I buy socks for myself at Target, and all of my husband's clothes from Target.

Now, if you want to bore me to tears, drag me to a hardware store like Home Depot. Nothing will put me to sleep faster than lumber, paint, plumbing, commercial lighting and carpet swatches. Though I try to make the most of the time there and keep myself lively by checking out some of the neat gadgets they'll often have near the cash registers.

What is your favorite store?

Would you like some baby bedding?

So I had been yapping about a neighborhood yard sale that was held on June 28th. I had every intention of participating, but I was so wiped out from our vacation, driving home and getting settled back in at home (we came home on Thursday evening; the 28th was a Saturday morning) that I skipped it. In hindsight, I should have put a bunch of stuff (baby bedding, baby toys, a few infant outfits) outside with a donation box and let the neighborhood have at it. But I didn't. And now the stuff is still in my house. And I'm sure that half the neighborhood is pissed with me for not doing my part and turning out with crap to sell. Oh well. The downside is that every time I look at the baby stuff I want more babies!

To be honest, we have lived here for a little over a year, and aside from the people on either side of our house, I have no desire to really meet and mingle with anyone else. Not the guy across the road who we had an issue with over a basketball hoop, not the woman next door to him who bellows like an enraged yak for her teenage boys, and not the family on the other side, the husband who is very nice (he helped my brothers and I push my mom's stalled mini-van down the road) but the wife who stares daggers at me every time she sees me (apparently me leaving a plate of cookies on their porch as a way of saying "Thanks for helping me push a mini-van!" is synonymous with, "Hi, can I steal your husband?" ), or the other parents of cretins whom they never take responsibility for.

I'll just keep on being that snobbish, uppity neighbor that I'm sure everyone thinks I am. :P

Tungsten rings

Since titanium-jewelry.com has a coupon good for $25 worth of savings floating around (use coupon code CS25 to get yours!), I'm checking out some tungsten rings for my husband. He has expressed some interest in black titanium and tungsten. I think I like the tungsten personally.

In addition to black titanium and tungsten rings, titanium-jewelry.com also has a huge amount of jewelry available in regular titanium. They carry rings for men and women, necklaces, bracelets and other accessories.

Do not touch the flood lights!

When I was a kid, I never had to think twice about not touching property that wasn't my own. From the time I was very young, it was drilled into my head that it was absolutely unacceptable to venture on someone else's property or touch property belonging to someone else, unless I had their direct permission.
I'm obviously grown now, but those teachings have stuck with me, influenced me, and are now being handed down to my children. My daughter knows that she is not allowed to touch another child's toy or go onto the property of any of our neighbors unless she was specifically invited to.

But so many kids are missing this crucial lesson. A prime example is the neighborhood where my grandfather's home is at. Twice this year his flood lights have been shattered, and I know that it's irritating, misbehaving kids or even teens that are responsible for it. My mom and I make attempts to drive by and check on the home at least twice a week, but unfortunately we've never caught the jerk(s) in the act.

Sometimes I really worry about how the children of today and tomorrow are being raised. So many parents don't want to crack down on their kids for the basic things -- such as staying off the property of others, not vandalizing or trespassing, etc. If these little but common sense things are being overlooked, what does that say for the big things?

Save money at titanium-jewelry.com!

Every now and again I post about titanium-jewelry.com. Well now I'm back and blogging about them again! As you may know, Titanium Jewelry is a leading company in the titanium and tungsten jewelry market. They also have jewelry available in black titanium and even palladium. They carry a large, high quality selection of mens wedding bands and womens wedding bands, but they have plenty of other jewelry as well, including bracelets, necklaces, earrings and accessories for men (cuff links and the like).

Anyway, I came across the following coupon today, and thought I'd share it with you all!

Use the coupon code CS25 to save an instant $25 off of any purchase of $69 or more at titanium-jewelry.com!

Reading, writing, shopping for titanium rings

I want to do something special for my husband. While we both work and probably log equal amount of hours most weeks (yes, I am that busy working from home!), his job is much more physically demanding than mine, and definitely more stressful. Plus there's the driving time to and from work, and I know how much he hates to drive.

I have one idea in mind, but it would take a lot of planning, and a significant amount of money. It's something I hope to pull off by the end of the summer. I'm so tempted to just jump and do it this weekend, but unfortunately those pesky little things known as "bills" always want to be paid first.

Today has been a really quiet day. I did some blogging, started a new book (check out my Good Reads to see what's on my reading list!), read some of the confessions at True Mom Confessions, and did a bit of research on titanium rings for a writing project I wrapped up just a little bit ago.

I need to get geared up for July and then August! Ack! Summer is just whizzing by. My son's second birthday is in two weeks, and then we have a swim party to plan for on August 5th. Whew!

Mens wedding bands

When my husband and I planned on marrying, one of the last things we did was go shopping for wedding bands. It was easy enough to find a wedding band for myself, as the selection of womens wedding bands was impressive. But finding a wedding band for my husband turned out to be a bit more challenging. We did finally find one, but not without a lot of hassle and running around.

I wish that we had known about titanium-jewelry.com. Their selection of mens wedding bands is incredible. Better yet, not only are these rings very stylish and well made, but they're also affordable! Many of the mens wedding bands available cost less than our monthly car payment!

While titanium-jewelry.com's specialty is titanium, there are also mens wedding bands, rings and other types of jewelry available in tungsten, black titanium and palladium. Styles range from classic to contemporary, with solo rings, sets, and even tension sets.

The Moses basket

A moses basket is a unique, comfortable and very safe haven for your infant to be. The moses basket looks exactly like you would expect it to look: a long wicker basket that is padded and lined with soft white or other pastel linens, wide and deep enough for your baby to be comfortably nestled in, with sides high enough to keep him or her protected. All moses baskets feature sturdy, strong handles which you can use to transport the basket with.

A moses basket is a great choice for keeping your baby with you, while still keeping him or her safe, comfortable and content. Take the moses basket around the house with you, or on the go! A moses basket makes a perfect accommodation for your baby at the park, on the beach, or at home in your own back yard.
Moses baskets are very popular choices for many mothers, and it's easy to see why!