Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Favorite Childhood Toys

Thank you Scrappy Jessi for being our lovely hostess for today's post: Favorite Childhood Toys. I grew up in the 70's and loved all things related to Snoopy and Hello Kitty. I carried a purse that was filled with Snoopy pads and colored pencils and Hello Kitty papers and erasers. Of course, like our hostess, I was a huge fan of Barbie and all her peeps. I had the Farrah Fawcett doll and the Marie Osmond doll along with Barbie, PJ, the obligatory Ken, and a host of others. None of them escaped the scissors, except for Ken who was saved by his plastic molded hair. I also had a love affair with all things miniature: plastic farm animals, Liddle Kiddles, Weebles, and Fisher Price people. I spent hours playing with these tiny Disney characters. As you can see, they are scratched up a bit but I'm so glad that I still have them. (My parents' house and all our belongings burned when I was four years old so I have only a few cherished toys and even fewer childhood photos.) As for outside play, I loved my Big Wheel and my red Hippety Hop, but nothing was more exciting than playing in the treehouse or exploring at Grandma's farm or making mudpie pizzas in the street and watching cars run over them. One year, I decided to start my own business - a Shrinky Dink Club. I made Shrinky Dinks all afternoon and then wrote a letter describing what you would get, for a nominal fee, if you joined The Shrinky Dink Club. I was so excited about this idea. Each member would receive new Shrinky Dinks every month. I packaged about ten of these envelopes and then took off on my bike, placing the sacred envelopes in random mailboxes. Oddly, I never received any orders.
Oh, and I loved the Upsy Downsy characters shown here. These were kind of related to Liddle Kiddles but more on the funky, psychedelic side.
Probably more than anything though, I loved any kind of imaginary game. My older brother and I engaged in rich imaginative play where our dog, Sniffles, was the General in a make-believe army and we, The Doggies, had to fight off various foes who all had special powers. Before we engaged in our battles, we, the Sniffles Club, convened in the garage. My brother was the President of the club; alas, I was only a mere member. Anyway, the Sniffles Club met on a regular basis and we had secret rituals. For example, before we could begin our battles, we had to sing the opening song, then we conducted our business, then we battled/played, then we sang our closing song. And believe it or not, I can still, to this day, remember the words to those songs. We never told one adult about the Sniffles Club. Ever. Wow. I hope Baby A has as much fun in the magical world of play as I did. So many wonderful memories. Thanks Jessi for taking us down memory lane!

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

What Can I Say?

I've been hypnotized by an 11-pound peanut patty, which is my excuse for not making a post in so long. Well, that reason coupled with the fact that my life, which is pretty much about baby bliss and mind-numbing sleep deprivation, does not make for the most artfully scintillating fodder these days. I considered blogging about my blocked milk duct (Oh, the adventures of breast feeding!) but decided to spare you guys the ugly truth. Honestly, I've been trying to find my groove in this new life of mine and have been at a loss on what to post about. But, when my mail lady arrived today with this package from one of the sweetest girls in blogland, I knew I had my post.Jessi, I am speechless. This is such a wonderful surprise...Look at all this pink, yummy goodness.
Check this out. Jessi has her own custom tags and buttons. Adorable!
She included one of the cutest custom tags from the talented Kris Hurst. I can't believe Jessi was willing to part with it...I love the pixie holding her balloons.
Oh my goodness! A bling bling princess crown pacifier holder! So fun. So precious. So Jessi.
And...oh, I cannot believe this...an adorable black and pink tutu dress. Wow!!! This is so cool. I love it all! I feel like Jessi is preparing Amelie for Silver Bella. The peanut patty was sleeping while I opened all of these goodies but I couldn't resist dressing her up. She couldn't quite keep her eyes open but I had a ball taking pictures of her. Jessi - you made my week, girlfriend. Thank you for your very generous and thoughtful gifts.

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Things I've Learned As A New Mom


Revelation #1: First, we have never experienced a love so powerful, so immediate, and so pure as the love we feel for our baby. Everyday with her feels like Christmas.

Revelation #2: Newborns make a lot of different sounds. If you close your eyes, you might think you are in a zoo rather than a nursery. She mews like a kitten, eeks like a dolphin, grunts like a pig, screeches like a monkey, and squeaks like a mouse...all in her sleep.

Revelation #3: Husbands (at least mine) can sleep through all of these noises while moms seem to be hardwired to listen and respond to every peep that comes from their sleeping noisemaker.
Revelation #4: Just because a baby has wet and/or pooped in her diaper doesn't mean that she can't wet and/or poop in her diaper again in the next five minutes and then again five minutes after that. (see Revelation #8)

Revelation #5: Babies don't smell like baby powder and baby lotion because they're wearing it; Baby powder and baby lotion were made to smell like the natural scent of babies. (Jim's Revelation)

Revelation "#6: The purple/black cord thingy makes both mom and dad a bit uneasy. It's been almost a month now and that little booger is still hanging on! Still hoping that Cosmo doesn't eat it like Miranda's cat on Sex In The City.
Revelation #7: When changing out the diaper, it is critical to immediately place a new diaper under the baby's bottom. (see Revelation #8)

Revelation #8: In the middle of changing out an explosive poo, note that additional projectile poo can be sprayed at least two feet from said baby's behind. (Yes, folks, I have cleaned bits of poo off our bedroom wall and off the dry-clean-only velvet curtains.)

Revelation #9: My embarrassing record of not bathing/washing my hair for five consecutive days (initially set years ago at summer camp where they only had communal showers) has now been broken. Gross, but true.

Revelation #10: Must. Sleep. Now.