Damn Grey's Anatomy...

will it EVER come on again? WTH? What is up with the writer's strike? I am needing me some Patrick Dempsey......verymuchso. I turn on the TV, holding my breath, saying a silent prayer, repeating a positive mantra to myself and WOOSH. SIKE. No Grey's. What a pain in my ass. I can't take much more High School Reunion, reruns of Beauty and the Geek, Supernanny, Wife Swap, The Bachelor, etc. I need some quality TV.....even miss Private Practice, though I think it is gone for good, no?

Enough rambling......am going to find something else to watch. Maybe Real World is on...

Let's Talk Strollers...

I have a 4 year old and a 6 month old. We have the huge ass Graco stroller that fits the car seat on top for little one. Then we have a Britax stroller (light-weight, compact; can't remember the model) for the 4 year old. So, do I buy a sit and stand stroller for them to be able to ride together? I'm not on the go with both of them a lot by myself. But when I do, the 4 year old wants to be held!!! He's always been this way. He just isn't a big walker. He only weighs about 32 pounds and is more prone to run his mouth than run his legs if you know what I mean.

I saw on another blog where people were really saying great stuff about the Joovy Ultralight Caboose (see above). I have to admit, I'd never even heard of it! I guess I'm out of the loop on strollers ...again. Especially the double kind!

The last time I went single-handedly out for a day with both kids I had the 4 year old riding on my back while the 6 month old sat in the stroller! At one point I even had the 4 year old in the stroller and was carrying the 6 month old! Ridiculous! And what a sight to see, I'm sure...

So, is it worth the money? Will I get a lot of use out of it? Are there other strollers that are better? Help a girl out....

Shopping, Shopping, Shopping...

So excited to show you what I bought at J Crew.
I started out with these--a staple item-city fit chino shorts in stone and a cool blue hue:

Then HAD to have these *plaid*:

And this to match *plaid again, of course*:

This was my little splurge--the hippie coming out in me--but I could just see myself in this in the upcoming months:

(it being on a hanger does it no justice)


And this (was 40% off and my lip goo will fit perfectly):


I was going to get the madras capris or shorts but couldn't go there because I didn't want my butt to look big or hips or whatever the plaid decided to accentuate that day!

Talk about a happy, happy girl. I was. And still am.

One question: Does J Crew make products specifically to sell at their outlets? I know that the Gap does, so just am wondering. The shorts feel a bit different than the ones I bought at the mall, so am curious. I've not washed them yet, so it may just be me.....

My weekend

So, yeah, I know it is already Wednesday, but I've not gotten to post since before the weekend, so I need to update. Did my wifely duties and took kids to see their grandparents (my in-laws) who were at their timeshare in Hilton Head for my nephew's Spring Break. Hubby wasn't going to be there until Friday night, but really wanted me to go on Thursday so his parents could see the kids. So, yes, I took Big Brother and Miss Bug on Thursday. Short drive. Thank goodness.

Here's the fun part: it is a 2 bedroom condo and we all stayed in the one bedroom. Miss Bug in the Pack-N-Play (which I have never been crazy about), Big Brother in one bed (then with Daddy when he got there), me in the other. I had to have a bed to myself because if Miss Bug wakes up and starts squawking in the middle of the night, I have to try to quiet her so as to not wake up the other sleepy heads. It was like a 3 ring circus putting everyone to bed. I managed to get Bug to bed first, then would threaten Big Brother with his life if he made noise in the bed when it was his bedtime. He normally talks and sings before he goes to bed, so this was a hard one for him. Thankfully, the sleep machine was our friend so it helped lessen the noise situation. On Friday night I had to go in there and tell Big Brother that if he stayed quiet and went on to sleep and not talk that I would let him have a piece of candy when he woke up. Worked like a charm.

Nana and Pa let Big Brother have Yoo-Hoo by the way which made him bounce off the walls. I don't recommend it-- especially at dinnertime. Those will not be a staple in our house for many years, if ever.

SO SO SO glad to see Daddy walk in the door on Friday night.

Then my saving grace came on Saturday. I got to go to the JCREW outlet all by myself! I was SO SO SO excited. You would've thought I had won the lottery or lost 10 pounds the way I was acting. I remained calm in front of the in laws so as to seem 'normal', then on the way to the car I caught myself skipping.....

Bought some PLAID stuff and will post pictures of it later. It was wonderful....truly what I needed. A girl's gotta have some retail therapy. I'm just sayin....

PS. I forgot to mention that Friday night Bug woke up at 11PM, 3AM, 5AM and was up for the day at 5AM. Now where am I supposed to go in a 2 bedroom condo at that time? All bedrooms had sleeping folks in them and the nephew was on the pull-out couch. I ended up in the bathroom trying to convince Miss Bug that it was not time to get up just yet. I swear I considered going out the front door if the stroller would've been readily accessible and I knew where a room key might be--all clad in my pj's and flip flops!

Caved in...

ended up getting the Matchbox Pop-Up Adventure Set--Shark Escape--at the freaking expensive toy store! Called Wal-Mart. It wasn't there. Called KB Toys. Wasn't there either. Those are the only other places in town with toys except for the expensive place.

So. Yes. My dumbass went to expensive toystore and bought toy for child. He was THRILLED. I got a break. He went to bed early. All is well in our household.

Amen.

Now if only Miss Bug will not wake up 42 times for me to get her pacifier back into her mouth. She is a pro at pulling it out. Not so much at the putting back part. Must work on that. Any suggestions other than some duck tape? I swear if someone could think of a safe way to keep a paci in a child's mouth, they'd be a gazillionaire.

Shark Attack Rescue Center

...is supposed to be at Target so when I went there I'd only have to make ONE trip today. I told Big Brother if he behaved all day that he'd get it. Such a bad Mommy I am sometimes. You aren't supposed to do this bribing thing; well, at least only sometimes, and I've done it too much lately. But what is a Mom to do when Daddy is out of town and I need a freaking break?

So I decided to run my errands at Target (AKA Hundred Dollar Store) and it wasn't there!

I guess I'm off to Wal-Mart later to see if it is there. If not, I'm up shit creek because I'm not going to that expensive toystore on the Island and paying $9 more for it. A girl has her limits.

I'll let you know as the saga continues....

Operation Toe Nail Fairy: Complete

So Big Brother has issues with anyone clipping his toenails or even touching his toes for that matter. He has been this way since he was little (he's only 4 though for cryin' outloud, but its gotten worse. He'll let you cut his fingernails, but NOT the toes. If I even get close to his toes, he says, "Mommmmyyyy, don't cut my toenails!" The only time we ever get to touch the toes is when we are putting on his socks--which he now sleeps in EVERY night and if you forget you will get reminded sometime --it may be 5 minutes after he goes to bed, or it could be at 3 in the morning when he awakens to find out that we forgot them and trot to our room announcing that we forgot and he needs them on. Yes, I don't know HOW, but he actually wakes up enough to realize there are no socks on his feet, gets out of bed, and walks to the other end of the house in pitch dark to our bedroom to inform us of our wrongdoing. How 'bout you put 'em on your own damn self then is what I'm saying???!!!!

So a month or two ago, it was time to cut the toenails. I was showing him how much it didn't hurt to get your toenails trimmed. We were visiting the grandparents. So I cut their toenails, my 13 year old cousin's toenails, my 3 year old cousin's toenails, my own toenails, his 4 month old baby sister's toenails, etc. I even bought him a $10 toy and set it in front of him and told him, "As soon as you let me clip your toenails, you can open this." He stared a HOLE into that toy box, but nope, no toenail trim.

My mom, in passing, just said, "We should do it while he's sleeping." DUH. Yes, she's a genuis. I told her that, too. And then asked what other tricks she had up her sleeve that she needed to share to help me out. She said she couldn't think of any more, but that if another occasion arose like this one, that she'd probably remember again and help me out.

So, that night we went in the bedroom while he was sleeping, clippers and flashlight in hand, and cut those suckers. He didn't even flinch. The next morning he awoke to a note from the Toe Nail Fairy attached to the $10 freaking toy saying, "See-it doesn't hurt when you get your toenails cut. I did it while you were sleeping!"

He was thrilled that he got to open the shark matchbox toy rescue thingy. I asked him if he saw the Toenail Fairy and he said, "Yes." I asked, "What does she look like?" He said, "She looks like a Mary. Kind of like the tooth fairy."

Kids, I tell ya.

It was time again to do it because his damn toenails were starting to curl around the toes, so I went in the other night. He wiggled around and then finally woke up and I just told him that I was making sure he had on socks that I thought I forgot them.

Tonight I drugged him, ahem, I mean I gave him some much-needed nighttime cold medicine, and then went in again. Got 'em girlfriends.

And there you have it. Mission accomplished. But this time I'm not leaving any freaking note...because all I need is for him to have yet another reason he needs a new toy. We'll just see if he notices!