My family is in town and we are having a great time. My mom, step-dad, and grandma are totally spoiling Scout. Yesterday, we went to the mall and they spent a bunch of money on her. She got 2 outfits from Gymb0ree and 2 pairs of shoes from Str1de Rite.

Here is one of her outfits. I *heart* it.






Here is the picture the Str1de Rite employee took of Scout in her first pair of "real" hard-sole shoes. She actually walks quite steadily in them, despite the fact that she is used to Robeez. (I was just holding her hands to keep her still for the picture)



She got a brown and pink pair and a pair of white T-straps. Here are the brown pair. I couldn't find a pic of the white shoes online...



Gotta go - I'm being a rude hostess to my family. LOL :)

Labels: baby gear, clothes, family

DH gave me a great gift. Yesterday, he watched Scout ALL. DAY. LONG. while I went shopping and goofed off all by myself. Not only that, he surprised me with a $100 gift certificate to a fancy-schmancy natural parenting boutique that I've been wanting to check out since they opened back in December but just hadn't had a chance. He started having second thoughts about the gift card after he gave it to me because he felt bad that it was for a store where I would just end up buying things for the baby. But I assured him that (like I've heard most of my mommy friends say) shopping for my baby is SO MUCH more fun than shopping for myself! It was the perfect gift: A day to myself and money to blow on expensive baby things that we wouldn't normally splurge on!

My "day off" started out with the seemingly mundane task of going to Wa1-Mart to get my oil changed. But I didn't mind at all. I felt light and free as I wandered the aisles of the busy megamart freely. Everyone else had carts to push, crap to carry, lists to check off, and kids to manage. Not me. I was just liesurely browsing the clearance racks and sipping my bottle of water while waiting for my car.

After that, I went through the drive-thru at Ch1ck-Fil-A (surprise, surprise) and ate my lunch while enjoying the gorgeous weather in the courtyard of the town center. The momma who owns the natural baby boutique is an acquaintance of mine and I ran into her while she was taking her toddler for a stroll around the block while her husband hung shelves inside. We chatted and caught up on things and then went inside so I could spend my moolah! It was so much fun picking things out for Scout. I picked 2 adorable organic cotton jumpers from Speesees, A wooden alligator pull-toy and a puzzle cow from Plan Toys, and some baby shampoo and body wash from Earth Mama, Angel Baby.







I can't say enough good things about Earth Mama, Angel Baby products. I was first introduced to them when sweet Wendy sent me their Post Partum Recovery Kit when Scout was born. The Earth Mama Bottom Balm was a lifesaver when my umm...nether regions were all sad and birth-battered. I had never purchased any of their baby products because, well...they're friggin' expensive. But after using the baby wash and lotion on Scout last night, I believe they are well worth the money. I only bought the travel size bottles because I wanted to make sure Scout's skin would react well to it, but I'd love to buy the bigger bottles when these run out.

Okay, back to my fun mommy's day out. After my shopping spree, I went to the Salvation Army thrift store to look around because I was inspired by some handmade bags at the boutique that were made from funky vintage curtains and table linens. I saw a desk there that I though DH might like, so I called him to let him know and he said that he and Scout were just driving around (I put the car seat in his truck before I left) and that they could stop by and check out the desk.

This is such a doting-mommy thing to say, but bumping into Scout out in public after being away from her for a while makes me realize just how stinkin' adorable she is. I mean, not just looks-wise. She just has an amazing personality. Strangers walk by her and can't help but interact with her because she is such a joy.

Anyway, DH and I parted ways and he went back to running errands with Scout and I went back to farting around. At this point, I was kind of bored. What do I do now? I almost headed home, but decided to go to a bookstore so I could dawdle some more and sit and read through magazines that I am too cheap to buy. After that, I headed in the direction of home and got pulled over for my registration being expired. Crap. It expired on the 29th and I had no idea because the reminder had gotten stuffed into my glove box along with some other mail. Doh! Oh well. I didn't get a ticket, but I was just so ready to be home. Then I hit "game traffic" by the university. Ggrrrr. When I finally got home, it was so good to see my hubby and baby again. I loved my day out, but it was nice to come home.

Labels: baby gear, clothes, dh, outings, toys

My sweet grandma sent Scout some money for Valentine's Day and I spent it on a spring dress and a pair of shoes from T@rget for her.





I just love shopping for a little girl!! I don't get to do it very often because our budget is so tight and we have been blessed with hand-me-downs and family that buys lots of nice stuff for Scout. But every now and then, it's nice to be able to pick something out for her myself.

I REALLY REALLY want to start making dresses for Scout out of fun and unusual prints, but I just haven't had the money to buy fabric and sewing supplies. I guess I could've spent Scout's Valentine money on fabric and notions to sew something myself. It's a sad fact, but fabric is so dang expensive - It was probably cheaper for me to buy a dress off the rack along with the shoes than it would've been to buy a pattern, cute fabric, and zippers/buttons/elastic or whatever. Maybe I'll dig around in my fabric pile and see if there's anything cute enough to make a simple little dress for Scout.

Labels: clothes, sewing

I am turning most of Scout's onesies into tee shirts. She has a long torso and has outgrown them by length (even some of the 9 month ones!), but the shoulders and tummy still fit great. I am not good at sewing knits, so they all have a ruffly looking hem. After playing with the stitch length and tension and whatnot, I decided not to fight it and pretend that I meant for them to have a decorative "lettuce edge". Good thing I don't have a boy, or all of his tee shirts would have ruffles. I did buy some onesie extenders a while back, but I just don't like the way they look if I don't put pants on over the onesie. When paired with a big fluffy cloth diaper, it reminds me of a thong. Thongs are never cute. Especially on a baby.

Labels: clothes, sewing

It was a little chilly this morning, so I put some legwarmers on Scout while I was changing her diaper. I was too lazy to go to the other room to get an outfit, so I grabbed a shirt out of a pile of 12 month and 2T size clothes my mom sent me because it was within reach. We went out on the front porch so Scout could watch the cars go by (that's one of her favorite things to do). It was a bit windy, so we ran back inside and I saw that the only sweater she owns that would fit over her huge toddler shirt is a big teal crochet sweater that was mine when I was a baby. I tossed it on her and we went back outside. As we were sitting there, I looked at her and realized that she looked like a clown.....albeit, an adorable little clown.

Labels: clothes, pics of scout

Just to update you (like you care), Scout pooped in the potty once yesterday and she peed twice in the potty. I missed her morning poo yesterday because I was lazy. She was awake and squirming in bed and I should've taken her to the potty right away, but I was hoping she'd go back to sleep. Oops. So far today, we've caught her morning poop and one pee in the potty.

The only thing on my list that I didn't get done yesterday was straightening up our bedroom. I doubt if I'll do that today. When DH is home, I'm lazy.

BabyLegs had a special going on in June that if you typed the word "Celeb" into the coupon code field, you get 2 for the price of 1! (I don't know if there is a code for this month, but I can try to find out if anyone is interested).

In case you don't know what BabyLegs are, they are darling little legwarmers for babies. They're handy for quick diaper changes and babies that use the potty. They're supposed to be good for protecting little knees when baby learns how to crawl too. I have found that most of the time pants look really funky over Scout's cloth diapers, so these are great for giant cloth bubble-butts too. Besides, some of our cloth diapers are just too cute to cover up.
Some pics from the company website:



My mom bought Scout the anemone and green polka dot ones:

My aunt bought her the cow print and red bandana ones:

And I bought her the rainbow striped and jolly jill ones:


I also bought some onesie extenders off of a seller on eBay so I don't have to buy her bodysuits that are 4 sizes too big.

Labels: baby gear, clothes, elimination communication

Who are these clowns that design baby clothes, anyway? Do they even have any children?

Scout has lots of cute outfits that friends and family have generously bought for her. Even with all the adorable overalls, jean skirts, dresses w/ bloomers, and frilly button-down shirts, I always find myself reaching for a comfy cotton onesie, a sleeper, or a one-piece shorts jumper when I get her dressed.

Whenever I put her in an actual "outfit" I feel bad....it seems like there are always scratchy tags and rough serged edges and seams inside the high-fashion clothes. The other day, she had a cute denim jumper/dress on over a onesie. I thought that would be comfy enough.....but every time she was in my arms (which is all the time!) the top of the jumper would ride up past her chin and the dress part would ride up her belly. I find that happens with most dresses.

When we're at home, she's usually just in a onesie and socks....or a onesie w/ soft elastic pants over it. I like getting her dressed up when we go out, but I think I'm going to stop doing that so much. I want her to be comfy. Babies look cute no matter what they wear anyway. I think a baby should just be able to wear pajamas everywhere for the first year of life.

Labels: baby gear, clothes, pet peeves

Okay, I swear that this black and white striped onesie is not the only article of clothing my daughter owns. She just happens to have it on whenever I decide to take pictures. Weird.

Here's a pic of her pouty sad (and drooly) face. I just love it when she pokes her lower lip out like that. So cute!



I went to Target today and I bought 2 shirts. I don't normally just go out and buy clothes, since we're on a tight budget...but I am fed up with not having anything to wear. I REALLY need a couple pairs of jeans, but I knew it would be a bad idea to spend any more, so those will have to wait. Nothing fits me right. I'm constantly washing the very few things that do fit me and wearing nappy sweat pants and stained up t-shirts in between.

I bought this top:



And also a plain plum color polo tee. Both of them actually FIT! Yay. I wish I could've bought the empire waist shirt in the black/blue combo as well. Once I find something that fits, I want to buy 20 of them.

Labels: clothes, pics of scout

I wish Wal-Mart or Target carried cool baby clothes like the fun designs at Nordic Kids

Labels: baby gear, clothes

I'm at 25w2d.

I am HUNGRY ALL THE TIME! If I skip a couple hours of snacking, my tummy gets an empty feeling that starts to resemble heartburn. As soon as I eat, it goes away. I get CRANKY if I don't have a snack at my disposal at all times.

I have outgrown 3 out of 4 of the maternity pants I was wearing (well, one of those were just a pair of "fat pants" left over from my chunkier days).....so I had to buy 3 pair of $10 stretchy sweatpant-type bottoms to last me (hopefully) for the rest of the pregnancy. XL maternity jeans from Old Navy and Target don't fit very well anymore (I can sort of wear them comfortably standing up, but they cut into me and give me "muffin tops" in the back if I sit down....I have to leave them unzipped if in the car and around the house) ....which means my only option is plus-size maternity from Motherhood. And I am NOT spending $45-$50 on 1 pair of pants this late in the game. Stretchy pants will have to do. At least they don't have elastic around the ankles :)

I haven't been getting very much exercise at all up to this point in the pregnancy. I was doing so well to walk for 30 minutes 5 days a week in the beginning. Then came the nausea for several weeks and I got out of the habit of walking. Then it got cold, so that became my excuse. I went for a 30 minute walk with my dog yesterday and it felt good. I want to keep it up, but it might be hard on the days I am watching Bob. His momma didn't dress him warm enough today for me to be able to wheel him around outside for an extended period of time....and even if he had a heavier coat on, I might feel bad to make a toddler endure the cold so I can get my excercise. Ha. More excuses.

It's getting tougher to sleep comfortably. It's awkward to roll over when I want to shift sides, but I have to do it quite often or my hips will hurt. Each time I wake up to pee (about 2 or 3 times) my bladder hurts and feels like it's about to explode. I'm dying for a good back rub, but I don't feel right asking DH to give me one, since he works all day and I don't. Besides, if I asked for one, I'd get called a whiner and end up with a half-assed little 5 second massage. (hey, it's true :) I don't think he's aware, but I'm pretty sure that massage is an integral part of the Bradley Method and will be one of his duties during labor.

Those are my only gripes/observations. Pretty good, eh? Oh yeah, and my nipples feel like they have needles in them today. Okay, now I'm done.

Labels: clothes, exercise, pregnancy, pregnancy whining

Well, I did go to Wal-mart and Target today, but I didn't get to update my registries like I had planned....and that's okay. I still have a little time before my trip North for the baby shower. Instead, I tried on 25 bras. No joke. I have no clue what size I wear anymore, so it took a lot of experimentation. I am desperate for bras, but it's so hard for me to shell out money on something that may not fit me in a month or two. After all that, I ended up with a crummy $6.96 sports bra from Wal-Mart. Turns out that I have gone from a 36B to somewhere around a 42C. I wonder where I'll end up when it's all said and done.

Right now, I have a headache (dang, I seem to get these a lot lately) and don't even know why I'm torturing myself by looking at this bright computer moniter in a dark room. Pretty stupid. I guess I'm gonna go night-night now.

Labels: clothes

Thanks everyone, for all the great suggestions! I'm glad you mentioned the Isis because I have already put it on my Target registry. I figured since I will be home with the baby all the time, all I will need is a manual pump. It's good to know that they actually work.

One thing I've noticed about the stores where I registered is that they don't have ANY cool baby clothes. I'm not very big into pastels or Winnie the Pooh....so most of the things I registered for are very plain yellow, white, and some light green.

Apparently, unisex baby clothing only comes in yellow and green. Why can't there be little red, orange, teal, brown, black, or grey gender neutral outfits?

I guess one must visit grossly pricey online "boutiques" to find hip baby clothing. It's fun to look....but let's face it, I'm not going to pay $30 for a t-shirt that my kiddo will grow out of in a month. If money were no object....

The Faux Shirt Bodysuit in pumpkin from olliebollen.com

Soul Sista ringer from theretrobaby.com ....Okay, it's not really unisex, but I like it.

Boombox Tee from fooey.com

Blast Off Leather Booty Set from Jaminga

Trumpette "Johnny" Socks from PsychoBaby (I *heart* the shoe laces!)

Dirty Laundry "I Love You" Onsie and Hat from Black Wagon

The good thing about most of these items is I bet I could make knock-offs pretty easily. I think it would be pretty fun to go wild with some plain onesies and some good fabric paint! :)

Labels: baby gear, clothes

My dear friend gave me a bag of baby clothes last night, which I thought was very thoughtful. She is due to have her first little one here in a couple months, but she had been given so many outfits she wanted to share the abundance with me.

What I found inside was really less than a blessing.

Now, please do not think I am snobbish when it comes to clothing. I am absolutely the opposite! I love hand-me-downs and shopping at thrift stores. Nothing feels better than a good broken-in t-shirt and an old pair of Levi's.

I am extremely happy to receive used baby clothing!......That is, IF it doesn't look as though a toddler barfed spaghetti sauce all over it while a piranha chewed on the collar. I mean seriously, people. Articles of clothing that are stained up and have holes in them SHOULD NOT be passed on to someone else. Throw them out or tear them up to use as dust cloths. Other people, no matter how needy, do not want your old rags.

Just so you don't think I am exaggerating about the condition of these clothes, here are some samples. The stains actually appear DARKER in real life. The camera doesn't give you the whole feel for just how raggedy they are....





To my friend's credit, she has no idea that she gave me a bag of clothes that are in bad condition. One of the ladies in her exercise class gave it to her, and she didn't go through it before she gave it to me. For all she knew, it could've contained really nice outfits, but she explained that she already has mountains of baby clothes and thought I might be able to use them instead. Again, SUPER THOUGHTFUL. I really am blessed to have such friends.

This is simply a rant picking on people who KNOWINGLY pass on virtually unwearble clothing to others, thinking they are doing some great deed. A few years ago, something similar happened to me....although in that case, it was a bag of clothing for me.....and I believe the person knew full well what kind of condition they were in. If a shirt didn't have a noticeable grease stain, it had a hole. Some of the pants and skirts had conspicuous stains as well as broken zippers, areas of almost threadbare wear, and missing snaps. While I really do appreciate getting free clothes (I mean, who doesn't???), I can't help but think that the folks who give away these items (that THEY THEMSELVES WOULD NOT WEAR) are just looking for a place to off-load the junk that is cluttering their closets or attics. They can fool themselves into thinking that they are helping someone out, but if they honestly thought about how they would feel if someone gave them a big bag of shoddy and worn-out clothing.....I bet they would just cut the clothes up to save for craft projects or use them as shop towels.

From now on, if I clean out my closet and decide to donate some items to the Goodwill or Salvation Army, I am going to make sure that none of the clothing is damaged or stained up. If I would be embarrassed to wear it in public because of the wear and tear, I am going to assume that no one else wants it. Why would they?

Labels: baby gear, clothes

I can't think of anything to write about....hhhmmmm.

My mom sent me some maternity jeans that she bought from eBay, but they are too small. Poo! They are XL....and too small....and I'm only 13 weeks pregnant. What a huge rear I must have! hee hee :) Really, I think it must be the brand ("Babyology")because Old Navy XL maternity stuff is pretty big on me. But, I have a plan. I think I'm going to sew some patches of interesting fabrics together, rip out the side seams of the jeans and insert the strips of patches to make the jeans wider and more comfy. I've done that before with another pair of jeans and it worked out fairly well. OR.....I could leave them alone and try to get thin enough to fit into them AFTER the baby is born. :) Hhmmph.

Not much else going on here. I'm in our Christmas choir at church and we start practicing tonight. I've loved being in choir since I was in the 5th grade, so it should be pretty fun.

Oh yes, and I think I'm going to start referring to the little boy I babysit as "Bob"....just because it's much easier than typing out "the little boy I babysit" every time. I'd really like to sew today while I'm babysitting, but my sewing area is in a room that is not very toddler friendly. Basically, I use that room (what will be the baby's room) as a storage area for everything that Bob should not be playing with....my guitar, stacks of fabric and other sewing stuff, etc. I guess sewing's out of the question today, since I don't feel like dragging my sewing machine and table into the livingroom....and even then, I think it may spark Bob's curiosity too much and he would just want to touch and pull on whatever I'm sewing. Obviously, many mommas sew and do crafty projects while having their small children around, so there must be a way to do it....but Bob is very rambunctious and I don't think I would have the patience to sew while trying to teach him not to touch things. I should probably try it anyway....he may surprise me.

Labels: babysitting, clothes, pregnancy