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It seems that Jude's imagination just exploded overnight. Sticks have become magic keys. Mom's legs now span rivers as bridges and an empty refrigerator box is transformed into a scary cave.
I saw this Tolkeinesque hideaway and thought about what wonderful enchanted adventures it could inspire. Some Middle Earth fantasy play can't hurt unless it goes on into adulthood.
Available at Magic Cabin.
When Mike and I decided to have a baby, we actually got out our day planners to figure out when would be the best time. I know, I know, I'm sure that last sentence is the punchline to some yuppy joke somewhere.
But in reality, I wanted Jude to be at home with either mom or dad for at least a full year and I was gonna make it happen, damn it. So finding the window where my maternity leave left off and my husband wasn't doing a graduate school internship became really important to me.
Once the date was picked, we knew we had to get the timing right. We were putting all my eggs (literally) in one basket.
I started taking my temperature twice a day to learn my body's rhythm. All these years, I naively thought the rhythm method of birth control had something to do with a man's ability to keep a beat. It really has to do with a women's ability to take good notes.
In addition to my charting, I bought those ovulation predictor sticks at the drugstore for good measure. After 3 months of peeing on sticks, I swore I could feel my eggs move into my fallopian tubes. I was ready when primetime came.
I'm not normally a person that sets myself up for such a big fall if things don't go according to plan, so I was apprehensive about how I would react if nature didn't line up behind me. As we all know, the best laid plans of eggs and women often go awry. Fortunately for me, the universe and I were on the same page and I got knocked up right on schedule.
It might have been handy to have the nifty OV-Watch when we were planning. It detects chloride ions on your skin that surge when you ovulate. Gives new meaning to having a cycle you could set your watch by.
Available at OV-Watch. (link via Medgadget)
Well, the weather forecasters are predicting an El Nino winter this year. What that basically means for us in Kansas is a wet, wet winter. Looks like I get to look forward to lots of freezing rain. Bleh.
This also means that buying a winter coat for Jude will be more of a challenge and considerably more expensive. Old Navy coats are definitely stylish, but no toddler looks cute with blue lips.
I found the perfect balance of form and function after much effort. Polar fleece it ain't. This baby is a high-tech reversible wonder coat. For ordinary days, Jude can sport the currently-in-vogue Michelin Man look, but when rainclouds threaten, voila - I can turn it waterproof side out.
So it looks like I've got the Dude covered but I'm afraid I'll have to weather the new crop of lame El Nino jokes on my own.
Available at Backcountry.
My best friend Suzie just called with news that she had her baby today. Bonus: It's a girl. Not that there is anything wrong with boys. It's just that there are no little girls in my family or hers and we needed some girl power to balance out the universe. As it stands, I have to go home and shave my legs after family get-togethers and playdates from all that testosterone flying around.
While I strive to find things for this blog that are gender neutral, having a boy definitely influences my hunting and gathering online. However, overwhelming sweetness cannot be denied when encountered, so I have posted some decidedly girly things in the past.
As I perused the internet today, I took the govenor off the "no-frilly stuff" engine. It was open season on lace, bows and polka-dots.
However when I came across this fortune kitty sleepset, I knew my quest had ended. Oh well, who says estrogen only comes in pink?
Available at Tutti Bella.
I think I may have been exposed to some kind of post-hypnotic suggestion, because I can't get enough of dinosaurs.
I know it started a couple weeks back after eating at the new T-Rex Cafe in Kansas City. This place is so over the top that Jude kept asking when we could go home. His mantra ended with the arrival of his dinosaur nuggets. Ever the sucker, I bought TWO dinosaur t-shirts in the gift shop. Captive audience marketing set against a soundtrack of dinosaur bellows worked it's magic on me, let me tell you.
So today, when I saw this terrific dino tee, I succumbed yet again but for different reasons. This amazing shirt is handmade by Diana at Wonder Threads and features exquisite applique. You can even work with her to create custom designs.
Available at Wonder Threads.
This shirt puts a new spin on the expression "old school". It features our prehistoric friend T-Rex sporting Run-DMC era gold chains and tooth. Freakin' hilarious idea... where DO these people come up with this stuff?
While on the subject of T-Rex, I wanted to share this link to the "Top 8 Myths about T-Rex". My favorite:
5. T. rex did not fight Giganotosaurus (a giant meat-eating dinosaur from South America). They would have needed a ship and a time machine to do this.
I like it because it reminds me of those immortal cinematic match-ups such as "Godzilla vs. Mothra" and "Alien vs. Predator".
I suspect this post will make me look like I have a lot on time on hands.
Shirt available at Pacifier.
