Thanks to Printfection, we have a big Monday sale going on in the 8PP Store. As always, customization is free upon request, and I'm adding a new design to celebrate the sale. (Hint: It's great for Duke fans or UNC haters.) You want details? Here are ya' details:
Coupon Code: MondayBlues
Discount: 10% off the base price! No Minimum!
Coupon Code: BigMondayBlues
Discount: 30% off subtotal of $50+
Disclaimer:
Please enter coupon code MondayBlues or BigMondayBlues before completing checkout. Discount is applied to the base price subtotal and does not include shipping, taxes, or additional charges. The maximum qualifying discount will AUTOMATICALLY be calculated by the website. Contact us if you have questions. This offer may not be combined with other offers and only applies to your account. Coupons valid from 3/28/2011 to 3/29/2011 11:59 pm Mountain Time.
If Only...
Showing posts with label baby. Show all posts
Showing posts with label baby. Show all posts
Monday, March 28, 2011
Saturday, January 29, 2011
An addiction that really sucks
My son has almost fully transitioned from "baby" into "toddler". He sleeps through the night. He eats regular meals with the adults. He uses and understands speech. He knows rules, and how to follow them. He even finally got his first haircut. None of his outfits include onesies anymore.But, though he's 18-months, he still uses a pacifier. And I hate it.
I hate to see my walking, talking, exploring little boy marching around with a little baby binkie in his mouth. He doesn't really need it, and it looks ridiculous. They're easy to lose and hard to clean. I'm so ready for this paci-habit to be over.
We've got the pacifier-use limited to sleepy times, but he still wants it when he gets upset or tantrumy. If he digs it out of his diaper bag when we're not looking, he'll pop it in his mouth and go about with it while he plays, trying to talk around it. And, while I'm not generally a very strict or structured mom, something about seeing the pacifier in his mouth drives me crazy.
So I'm ready to ditch the pacifier. And, like any new mom with an internet connection, I've been researching online for the best methods by which to do so.
Here's the methods I've found, and why I'm almost 90% sure they're not going to work:
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
The mythical "perfect" age gap
When I daydream about my son having a younger sibling, I tend to jump a few years in the future. When the baby crazies kick in, I get that pretty picture of my little boy at around six-years-old, sweetly and protectively playing with a younger brother or sister around three-years-old.
Or I think of having a big round preggo-belly and explaining to my son that his little brother or sister is in there, and him giggling when mommy's tummy jumps and bounces around.
Or, having a newborn baby, whom my son will stare at adoringly and beg to be allowed to hold, and we will if he sits on the couch right next to us and is very careful.
Fortunately, the real me is cynical enough to shake off these hormonal delusions and foresee the realistic scenario a 2nd baby would mean right now. And because I'm one cold, analytical chick at heart, I like to carefully weigh out the pros and cons.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Someone please explain "Kidz Bop" to me...
These are all real Kidz Bop songs. For ease of reading, I'm breaking them down into categories of inappropriateness.
Too Oversexed for Kids:
"Come On Over Baby" by Christina Aguilera. Hint: she's not inviting him over to play XBox.
"1985" by Bowling for Soup. Kids don't need to hear about mom's groupie days, as anyone who saw me at that H.I.M. concert in 2003 can attest.
"California Gurls" by Katy Perry f./ Snoop Dogg. Even if you could discount the lyrics, Snoop Dogg has his own porn series. (It's called...well, exactly what you'd expect.)
"Low" by Flo Rida. Explain to your 4th-grader what "apple bottom jeans" are. Go ahead.
"If I Had You" by Adam Lambert. At least they cut the line about him wearing stripper heels.
"Makes Me Wonder" by Maroon 5. This is one my favorite bands, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm pretty sure all of their songs are about hate-sex (even the slow songs).
"Animal" by Ke$ha. No one, especially children, should ever be exposed to Ke$ha, not even aurally.
Dysfunctional Relationships (mostly infidelity):
"Follow Me" by Uncle Kracker. Best example line: "I'm not worried about the ring you wear, 'cause as long as no one knows, then nobody can care."
"Dilemma" by Nelly. The dilemma is whether or not to continue an affair with a woman still involved with her son's father.
"Lips of an Angel" by Hinder. You know the song.
Nickelback makes this sub-list twice, with "Someday" and "How You Remind Me". Double bonus for addiction references in the latter.
"Paparazzi" by Lady Gaga. No one cheats, because this song is from the point-of-view of a stalker. Bonus: Alexander Skarsgard plays her boyfriend in the video, and she straight-up murders him.
Too Depressing for Adults, much less kids:
"Boulevard of Broken Dreams" by Green Day. AKA "that song in college we always played and cried to when we were drunk and it was really late in the night"
"Photograph" by Nickelback. Fun fact: This entire list contains only about half the Kidz Bop covers of Nickelback. Is Kidz Bop Canadian?
"My Immortal" by Evanescence. I still cry to this song. This is like making kids read Steinbeck and watch "Old Yeller" at the same time.
"How to Save a Life" by the Fray. Yes, the song that is entirely about an intervention. Great for kids whose parents suffer from substance abuse issues.
"If Today Was Your Last Day". Nickelback again! And, yeah, that's what I want my child to be thinking about: their inevitable death.
Honorable Mention:
"Disturbia" by Rhianna. This song's not clear what its message is about, but if hearing it played repeatedly at Legends is any indication, it's about hallucinogenic drugs and cross-dressing.
This is a two-part post. Up next...I write my own song list for Kidz Bop: Classics!
Too Oversexed for Kids:
"Come On Over Baby" by Christina Aguilera. Hint: she's not inviting him over to play XBox.
"1985" by Bowling for Soup. Kids don't need to hear about mom's groupie days, as anyone who saw me at that H.I.M. concert in 2003 can attest.
"California Gurls" by Katy Perry f./ Snoop Dogg. Even if you could discount the lyrics, Snoop Dogg has his own porn series. (It's called...well, exactly what you'd expect.)
"Low" by Flo Rida. Explain to your 4th-grader what "apple bottom jeans" are. Go ahead.
"If I Had You" by Adam Lambert. At least they cut the line about him wearing stripper heels.
"Makes Me Wonder" by Maroon 5. This is one my favorite bands, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm pretty sure all of their songs are about hate-sex (even the slow songs).
"Animal" by Ke$ha. No one, especially children, should ever be exposed to Ke$ha, not even aurally.
Dysfunctional Relationships (mostly infidelity):
"Follow Me" by Uncle Kracker. Best example line: "I'm not worried about the ring you wear, 'cause as long as no one knows, then nobody can care."
"Dilemma" by Nelly. The dilemma is whether or not to continue an affair with a woman still involved with her son's father.
"Lips of an Angel" by Hinder. You know the song.
Nickelback makes this sub-list twice, with "Someday" and "How You Remind Me". Double bonus for addiction references in the latter.
"Paparazzi" by Lady Gaga. No one cheats, because this song is from the point-of-view of a stalker. Bonus: Alexander Skarsgard plays her boyfriend in the video, and she straight-up murders him.
Too Depressing for Adults, much less kids:
"Boulevard of Broken Dreams" by Green Day. AKA "that song in college we always played and cried to when we were drunk and it was really late in the night"
"Photograph" by Nickelback. Fun fact: This entire list contains only about half the Kidz Bop covers of Nickelback. Is Kidz Bop Canadian?
"My Immortal" by Evanescence. I still cry to this song. This is like making kids read Steinbeck and watch "Old Yeller" at the same time.
"How to Save a Life" by the Fray. Yes, the song that is entirely about an intervention. Great for kids whose parents suffer from substance abuse issues.
"If Today Was Your Last Day". Nickelback again! And, yeah, that's what I want my child to be thinking about: their inevitable death.
Honorable Mention:
"Disturbia" by Rhianna. This song's not clear what its message is about, but if hearing it played repeatedly at Legends is any indication, it's about hallucinogenic drugs and cross-dressing.
This is a two-part post. Up next...I write my own song list for Kidz Bop: Classics!
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
How to Tell if your Toddler is Gay
Okay, so, for starters, let's get the obvious out of the way and let me ensure you that the title of this post is a joke. Part of my amusement comes from the whole "Shiloh Jolie-Pitt is transgendered!" debacle. (A four-year-old doesn't like wearing frilly dresses? Unheard of!) The other bit started a few months ago when we were Christmas shopping. Taking a little breather in Toys R' Us, my son seemed really interested in a little doll baby that babbled and cooed when you held her. He very gently played with and rocked the little doll, just barely touching her hair and hands.
Uh-oh...my son's gay! Or, maybe he's curious about babies due to the fact that, between myself and two sisters, there's always someone in a stage of pregnancy or with a newborn. (He is the 2nd oldest of four cousins, all under the age of 3.) So when he saw that little doll, he treated it the same as he would his baby cousins, smiling at it and touching it very gently.
I almost got it for him, but I knew some of his less open-minded extended family would have a fit over buying a doll for a little boy. After all, I might "confuse" him. In my opinion, I think he should be more confused at the idea that males can't take care of little babies, especially considering how great his own dad is with kids, but I don't expect outdated gender roles to reverse themselves overnight.
Uh-oh...my son's gay! Or, maybe he's curious about babies due to the fact that, between myself and two sisters, there's always someone in a stage of pregnancy or with a newborn. (He is the 2nd oldest of four cousins, all under the age of 3.) So when he saw that little doll, he treated it the same as he would his baby cousins, smiling at it and touching it very gently.
I almost got it for him, but I knew some of his less open-minded extended family would have a fit over buying a doll for a little boy. After all, I might "confuse" him. In my opinion, I think he should be more confused at the idea that males can't take care of little babies, especially considering how great his own dad is with kids, but I don't expect outdated gender roles to reverse themselves overnight.
Shameless plug: The amazing seahorse makes babies sleep!
Okay, so does it count as a shameless plug if I'm not getting paid a cent to endorse it, and just really, really love the product? No? Okay cool.
I bought this seahorse for my boy when I was still pregnant with him. I loved the fact that it made ocean sounds in addition to lighting up and playing music, and was machine-washable on top of that. (You just take out the mechanical part in the middle, easy-peasy.)
From since he was born, this awesome seahorse has been my son's bedtime lovey. It takes very little pressure to make the belly light up and play sounds, so it's good for even a little baby, and it turns off after 1o minutes, which is just about the perfect amount of time to soothe a little one to sleep.
At 18 months, my son has two so that one can stand in while the other takes a run through the wash, and he'll normally signal that he's ready for a nap by picking up his seahorse, hugging it on, and coming over and asking to be picked up.
His two younger cousins also each have one now, too. : D
I got his at Babies R' Us for about $15, which is a really good deal for the triple-threat combo of a stuffed animal/nightlight/sound machine, not to mention all the good nights' sleep.
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