Things I Love

I have found quite a few MomBloggers out there who actually get free stuff from companies to try and review.  I really would love to get stuff for free and review it…but I am not big time enough for that.  So, in the meantime, I am going to give you my unsolicited reviews for the Things I Love.  

I love this baby carrier.  The Ergo is well worth the money and I feel if you are going to spend money on a carrier, you should go with this one.  It is SO comfy, SO easy to use, and as a PT, I will tell you it is easy on your body.  The load is transferred through your hips, leaving you with little to no upper back pain that you can get from other carriers.  LOVE IT! 

Carson in the Ergo, ready for a walk!

I love this lotion.  Carson has what I affectionately refer to as “sandpaper forehead”.  I don’t know if it is some extension of cradle crap (no, that is not a typo), just dry skin, eczema, or what–but California Baby Calendula Cream pretty much helped it after the first use.  I have actually been using it on the cradle crap, too!  Plus, can we talk about the smell??  So nice.  It is a small container, but a little goes a long way.  And they sell this at Target.  I haven’t used any other Cal Baby products yet, but I am looking forward to trying more of their line. 

I love this diaper cream.  If Carson has the slightest hint of a rash, I slather some of Boudreaux’s Butt Paste on and its magical properties practically ensure the rash is gone by the next diaper change.  It doesn’t have that medicinal smell like some of the other creams do, either.  I like the big tub the best, it’s easier to apply when you don’t have to squeeze it out of the tube first.  I have actually been using a thin layer at bedtime because I am too lazy to change his diaper in the middle of the night and it provides a good barrier to his pee-filled dipe.  

I love this glider and this ottoman.  I know, some of you may choke on your tongue at the price but if you plan accordingly, you can get it on sale, like I did.  If you go after your shower, you can probably get it at no cost to you with your returns/gift cards.  I’m telling you this is one area where you do not want to skimp.  I spend a lot of time in this bad-boy.  This is like the Cadillac of gliders.  Oh, and did I mention it reclines too?  Yeah, in the middle of the night I am congratulating myself for getting over the price tag and splurging on it! 

I love this stain remover.  OxiClean Baby has saved many a onesie from up-the-back poop blowouts.  In fact, I have only thrown out one onesie so far…and that was because it contained as much poop as a diaper on its own, not because OxiClean couldn’t save it.  It always amazes me when I come back to the soaking onesie to find it stain free.

Lastly, I LOVE this… 

I L.O.V.E. this man!

 …although I don’t know where you could find another, he’s one of a kind!!

What do you love?

Things I’ve Learned From My Three-week Old…

1.  Sleep is over-rated.  That being said, there is a vast difference between sleeping for 6 consecutive hours and sleeping for three 2-hour intervals with 30-45 minutes of awake time between each one.

2.  Falling asleep sitting up is surprisingly easy.

3.  Babies make people happy.

4.  Babies are a good judge of character.  They will show you the best of people.

5.  Previously mundane tasks are now a luxury, i.e. grocery shopping, and on a smaller level–showering and going to the bathroom.

6.    Standing up to eat is a good diet plan.  Turns out you don’t eat as much.

7.  You can accomplish a lot with one hand only.  Yes, it usally goes much slower, but it can be done.

8.  You can make up songs about just about anything.  You can also make up words to rhyme with your made-up songs with ease.

9.  There is no one else on this earth that could make you give up chocolate.  Or caffeine. 

10.  The best-laid plans ALWAYS fail.  You will never again have the control over your life that you once had.  This can be first demonstrated when you child decides to make an appearance two-weeks ahead of schedule.

11.  This list should be longer, but being a mom, lack of sleep, and breastfeeding literally suck your brain power right out of you.

12.  Your heart CAN contain all the love you have inside of you, but people will see it radiating out of every pore in your body.

 

 

Here a Blog, There a Blog…

So, I am reaching the 11th blog milestone (woo hoo!) and would like to take a moment to thank my faithful readers.  I am really surprised at all the activity my site has seen!  I am having so much fun with this, it is downright ridiculous!  As I have said, it is pretty much consuming my life and at least 25% of all my conversations (when you see 10-15 patients a day, you have to have a lot of stories to tell). 

But I’m gonna be honest with you–my life is boring.  I have pretty much been glued to this stupid computer for the past two weeks.  That is not exciting.  At all.  Trust me.  If I keep it up at this rate, I am going to run out of blog ideas before I even get started.  Well, that’s probably not true, but as we all know, I tend to exaggerate.  

I really love getting everybody’s feedback, so please keep it coming!  And I am taking this monumentous 11th blog to ask if you, my faithful reader, has anything you would like me to blog about.  I am always open to any suggestions.  You may suggest all you want, I may listen, I may not.  You will have to stay tuned to find out!

Favorite F’s

So, here’s the deal with this–I saw this blog on If I Had to Pick Five –she gave me the letter “F” and I need to come up with 10 things I love that start with that letter.  Oh boy…here goes!

1.  FOOD  I LOVE Food.  I mean, I have a blog category for it.  Granted, there is only one blog there, but I anticipate that that will change.  I am prepared for more Food blogs.  I love new Food, I love new recipes, I love trying new Food.  One of my favorite things about travelling?  Yup, Food.  I am lucky I am not morbidly obese, such is my love for food.  I could also probably make up a whole list of “F” Foods to complete this blog if I wanted to!!  (French Fries, Five Guys, Frank’s Gourmet Grille, Frankfurters, Fruit, Feta, Filet mignon, French toast, Fudge)

2.  FICTION  I LOVE Fiction (really, reading in general).  For those that read my 100 things, you know this already.  You also know that my computer is sucking my life energy and it has been affecting how much I read.  But I still love to get lost in a good book.

3.  FACEBOOK  I LOVE Facebook.  There.  I said it.  When I first started, I didn’t really get it.  I don’t know when that changed, but I am at the point now when I check Facebook before I check my email.  

4.  FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS  I LOVE FNL.  It is one of the best, if not THE best show on TV.  I had the pleasure of seeing the 3rd season on DirecTV already, but I am sad because now I have to wait until who knows when to (hopefully!!) see the 4th season.  I will be devastated if this show gets cancelled.

5. FUNNIEST HOME VIDEOS  I LOVE Funniest Home Videos.  My husband and I watch it pretty regularly.  We most enjoy people Falling (another F).  I am a PT, I probably shouldn’t find humor in people injuring themselves.  But I do.  And it keeps me in business…so…win/win.

(F is hard….)

(also, my first Five things involve either sitting or eating…it is REALLY a wonder that I am not morbidly obese)

6.  FIREWORKS  I LOVE Fireworks.  Really, really LOVE Fireworks.  The problem with a lot of fireworks are the crowds.  I don’t love crowds that much.  I don’t tend to go to the Grucci Brothers Fireworks in New London because I don’t love battling the crowds.  And the crowds and/or people you are with can make or break a good Fireworks experience.  My top favorite Fireworks?  Sitting on the beach in Naples, FL on July 4th, 2008 with my husband on our honeymoon.  Oddly, there were a lot of people there, but being on the beach, watching the sun set….all of it made for some really great Fireworks.  My runner-up Fireworks?  Gardner’s Lake Fireworks.  My in-laws live right on the Lake.  Bob (as in Furniture Bob) put on a great show and we were surrounded by great people.  And we were comfy.  And probably drunk, which helps.  Unfortunately, I don’t think he is doing the Fireworks anymore…so that is just a good memory now!

7.  FRIENDS  I LOVE Friends (specifically MY Friends).  My Friends are great people.  I love them.  They make me laugh and keep me grounded.  I couldn’t get through a week without my them.  

8.  FELINES  I LOVE Felines.  Well, I don’t usually call them that, but for the sake of the F’s…  I am an animal lover, but if I had to pick, I would say I am a Feline person.  I have always had a Feline, except when I was in campus housing in college.  I have always been a one-Feline family.  I sometimes wish I was a two-Feline family.  I wonder if my Feline, Tiki, wouldn’t be such a wench if she had a buddy to keep her in check.  Also, in the future, I am only going to be male Feline person.  This is my first female Feline, and she is definitely not the loving Feline I am familiar with.  I think the males are better lap cats.  Or lap Felines.   

9.  FLYING  I LOVE Flying.  I really love it all, even check-in.  I like the waiting for your plane, it just builds up the anticipation (I don’t, however, love waiting for a delay, or waiting on the runway for 2 hours.  Just to clarify.).  For me, anytime I have Flown, good times have followed.  It is classical conditioning.  Flying=Good Times.  My heart rate spikes a little at take off.  I react the same way I did when I was a kid when I am in the window seat (I am actually disappointed if I don’t have a window seat).  I think I would actually like to be on a plane right now!

10.  FUTURE  I LOVE the Future.  The idea of what is to come gets me very excited.  I cannot wait to see how my life will unfold.  There are a lot of possibilities and opportunities and I am so excited for all of them!!

Five Guys? Yes, Please!

As some of you may know (mainly because I have been talking about it for the last two days), I took myself out to dinner at Five Guys Burgers and Fries in Mystic tonight.  I have been on a burger hiatus for about two weeks preparing for this burger.

Yesterday, I looked up the Five Guys menu to prep for the visit.  I sometimes get a little overwhelmed if there is a long line of people behind me and I don’t know what I want.  Luckily, the menu is pretty straightforward.  The take-out menu fits on just half a page of paper.  

So…you walk in the door and it is your pretty straightforward “diner” like atmosphere.  Red and white tiles, tables and a “bar” that runs around 2 walls.  You are welcome to help yourself to peanuts while you wait and you are welcome to throw the shells on the floor.  And you are welcome to some kind of near death reaction if you have a peanut allergy.  I wouldn’t recommend this place for the peanut allergic out there.  There is a sign on the door that warns you not to take the peanuts home due to neighborhood children who may have peanut allergies.  They don’t seem to care as much about those people who walk into the restaurant with a peanut allergy–so take heed!

I felt well prepared when I ordered, thanks to my extensive research.  I went with the bacon cheeseburger with tomatoes, pickles, ketchup and mustard.  And fries.  Lots and lots of fries.  Now, let’s clarify that the “little” burger choices are in fact your regular burger, and the “regular” burger choices are in fact double burgers.  Very misleading…  

I opted for the “regular” burger to so my first experience would be the full experience (Go Big or Go Home!!).  Henceforth, though, I will be going with the “little” burger because I just ate a LOT of meat.  But it was good meat.  It was a really good burger.  I kinda loved it.

The fries…the fries deserve their very own paragraph.  The main part of the restaurant has sacks of potatoes piled it up that they use for their fresh cut fries.  The blackboard announced that today’s fries were from Idaho Falls, Idaho, in case you were wondering.  The “cup” they put the fries in is pretty much a formality, b/c there are so many stinking fries that they basically just run loose in the bag that they serve the food in.  One person can’t and/or shouldn’t eat a regular order of fries on their own.  I can’t even get my head around a large order of fries.  Anywho, turns out fresh cut fries are pretty delicious, even more so with a little malt vinegar…YUM.

So, I will be back.  Though I won’t be as much of a glutton next time.  And it is definitely something you should try…but if you are like me, you might want to take a look at the menu and pick your toppings first!!

It’s Tax Time!

I LOVE Tax time!  I know, I know…this is highly unlike me to not be complaining.  But it is TRUE!  

I LOVE TAX TIME!  

I LOVE Turbo Tax, my OCD nature really thrives with it.  I love, love, LOVE watching the little box on the upper right just start racking up the dollars.

I kind of think of it like a slot machine–although for us, the slot machine has way more cherries than the norm.  We always hit the jackpot, it is just a matter of how big it will be.  Our tax return has been spent (for me anyways) for MONTHS.  Seriously.  The only obstacle is getting the husband on board.  

I think the tax return would be best spent on a new bed.  I am 30 years old and now I think I can spring for a big girl bed.  As much as I love my husband, I think I might love him a little more in a queen bed.  We are currently snug as two bugs in a rug in a full.  For those of you who don’t know my husband he is 6’4″.  I think that is all I need to say about that.

The problem is that I think my husband wants a new set of irons.  Scratch that.  I KNOW he wants a new set of irons.  Or a new HD set-up for the basement (because, honestly, is one big screen HD TV in the basement enough?).  He doesn’t seem to make the connection that every morning he complains that his back hurts.  For any of you who questioned my professional judgement, please know that I have not failed to make the link.  

Anywho, my folder of forms and documents is ready and raring…mother lode here we come!  

How bout the rest of you?  Anybody crazy enough to love tax time like I do??