Macy’s Mom

http://www.ringling.com/offers/baby.aspx

I went to the ringling Brother’s website. As long as your child is less than 1 years old..you can sign up for a free ticket to the circus!

Gavin’s been riding around in his sister’s hand-me-down stroller.  It’s faded, and the wheel keeps popping off.  It’s time to get the boy his very own stroller.  I really wanted a Maclaren..but I couldn’t swallow the $3oo price tag.  I looked on Craigslist..even used Maclaren’s were running about $150!  I did a little research and looked at strollers with the same features without the giant price.  I picked the Zooper Twist in the new green color.   It has a 5 pt harness..the seat reclines..looks great!  I paid about $190.  It’s beautiful and rolls like a dream!  Here’s my only complaints…

1.    You cannot recline the seat with one hand.  Very annoying when you have a baby melting down..you’re trying to recline and give a bottle.

2.    The trim on the shade is yellow..when the stroller is folded up, the wheels touch the trim…dirty-dirty-dirty.

Overall, the stroller looks cool.   The recline drives me crazy..but I can live with it.  But, they really need to change the color of the trim!

Looking back..I now realize Macy was very easy to potty train. She showed all the signs..way before I was ready! Around 18months..I noticed, (and ignored) that she was waking up in the morning dry. A little over the age of 2..I dropped her off for a play date at Audrey’s house..when I picked her up..Audrey’s mom commented on how she stayed dry for 4 hours..I pushed that aside too. At around 2 1/2- 2 3/4 I left for a trip. Dad threw out his back cleaning the carpet when Macy tried to change her own diaper. Ok..it was time. I am all about the bribe. I took her to the video store to pick out a video to potty train too. “Beauty & the Beast.” I bought a potty chair for the living room and a potty seat for the bathroom. I dressed her in a big t-shirt..nothing underneath. Commando! I explained what we were doing..and would only let her watch the video if she sat on the potty seat. And shortly after she became addicted to the video..I promised to buy it for her after she was potty trained.  I planned on staying home until we were done. We really didn’t have  any major accidents..She caught herself mid-stream a few times and ran for the potty!  Same with #2.  We only stayed home for 3 days!  Yahoo!

As for the promised princess video..I was a clueless new mom who didn’t realize that Disney doesn’t just sell videos when you want to buy them..I ended up buying one on e-bay from China!

I was having so much fun trading coupons on Craigslist..that Craig decided to set me up with my own coupon trading site! clipalot.com This has been a blast! I’ve been going to craigslist looking for people with postings asking for coupon trades…I e-mail them and ask them to check out my coupon site! This morning I got so carried away with contacting people all over the country..that I’ve been banned from Craigslist for 24 hours! (I actually find this hilarious!)

I’m back to work..Gavin’s been weaned!  I would have continued to nurse if Gavin would have co-operated!  So now I’ve entered the world of formula and the coveted coupon checks!  We use Enfamil.  I got some Enfamil checks when Gavin was born..along with a ton of Similac and Nestle.  I went online to Craigslist and posted to see if anyone wanted to trade checks..Similac for Enfamil…I managed to get a contact before we were red-flagged by Craigslist.  And so the coupon trading has begun!

Last summer..we had a constipation drama/comedy. Macy, who never gets enough roughage..couldn’t poopy. “whaaa!!! my poopy won’t come out..whaa..it hurts..it’s too big..whaa..” During this whole drama..I plugged in a few “that’s why you should eat your vegatable/drink more water.” (and anything else I thought she might actually hear for a change!) This went on for what felt like hours! (actual time..about 20 minutes) “I want my Daddy!” So, we ended up calling daddy at work..Daddy suggested I read her a book. Daddy sure is brilliant! I read..Macy calmed down..the humongous poopy came out! Hhmmm..so that’s why people read on the potty…

I bought a jumbo pack of Pampers Baby Dry (144 for $29.99) at Babies R Us..I had a $5 off coupon. Nice elasticity on the sides..none on the back. My main complaint is the smell. They smell like chemicals and perfume. I won’t be buying these again.

Like all toddlers..Macy loves potty talk!  And it got worse after she started pre-school.  I tried to constantly monitor it..but it was getting out of hand!  Another mommy had a great suggestion..potty talk belongs only in the bathroom.  I sat down with Macy and explained the new rule.  Anything potty related can only be said in the bathroom.  Now if she slips up..I ask her if she’s in the bathroom?  “No, Mommy..sorry.”  It’s working great!  And sometimes when the build up is too much for her..she’ll run to the bathroom..shut the door..and yells out “poop!poop!poop!”  All the while laughing hysterically..and I can’t say anything because she following my rules!

We really love the Burien Library! When Macy was a little younger..we would go every week to Cinnamon Bear’s Toddler story time with librarian Sandra. (ages 12mo-24mo) She would start with songs..read a book..make a craft..end it with “ring-a-round the rosies.” All this in a 40minute time period!

The other day, I went online to see if they had anything for Gavin. Yes! Baby’s Blanket Time with Librarian Karen! (ages 6mo-12mo) Karen had baby blankets out for everyone. She went around and met the babies. We started with bouncy/tickle songs..short story..ended with Karen singing on the guitar! Afterwards, she invited us all to stay and hang out! Fun!

I encourage everyone to come to our library, or check out your own! It’s so much more than just books! www.kcls.org

I love the Britax Roundabout convertible car seat. My peps group arranged for Sue from Regina Providence to come and show us how to correctly install all of our various types of car seats. She told me that all carseats are safe nowadays..but the britax is the easiest to install! Yeah, it costs more than the average car seat..but you won’t need to roll up towels under the car seat to get the right angle! Now, I bought the Roundabout.($219) It was a little less than the Marathon ($269)..I second guessed this choice until I saw my girlfriends Marathon installed. Yikes! It’s huge! Even when you rear-face the Roundabout..the front passenger seat is only usable by small people! And Macy was a large baby! I worried that I would have to buy another converible car seat with a higher maximum weight than the Roundabouts 5-40lbs. Now in hindsight..I know the Roundabout was perfect for us! We moved Macy to a Booster seat when she turned four. (37 lbs) Not because she outgrew the Roundabout..but, because she’s 4..and that makes her a big girl!