Wantiness, Stuff, and Sensibility

Today, I found the greatest find in my history as a mom.

A Chicco Cortina Stroller. For free.

That brings us to a total of 4 strollers (don't ask): a Bell Jogger, a Graco Passage, a Graco Glider, and the Chicco Cortina. Also, 2 Graco SnugRides

My brilliant plan was to sell off all things Graco.

Yay!

Then Jeremy got all reasonable and logic-y with me. We should sell one SnugRide, one Graco stroller and... the Chicco. Because in order to use the Chicco conveniently with the future children, we would have to buy a Chicco car seat.

I was not opposed to buying a different car seat for the next child... after all, the Gracos will be expired by the time he shows up. Then, I went to the Chicco website and looked. Car seat= $180.

Even in my continuous state of "cute stuff" wantiness... I cannot justify that.

7 (yarn-related) Quick Takes Friday (#12)

1. Jeremy and I have been talking a great deal about the big fuss everybody seems to be making these days over soy and bamboo yarns and fabrics. The manufacturers like to call them "natural fibers." We were suspicious and investigated. The conclusion is no. There is very little about these yarns that is natural, save their origin. The plants are ground up and mixed with some chemicals, and then spun, etc. boring chemistry stuff, and then... you have very pretty, very soft threads. So really... soy and bamboo fabric is a subset of the rayon (made from trees) family, which also includes things like "viscose" and modal (made specifically from the beech tree).

On a positive note, soy threads are made from the waste product of soy processing plants, rather than brand new plants... unlike bamboo. Yes, I know... bamboo takes care of itself. Also, the quantity of chemical products used is kept to a minimum because they can use the same batch of chemicals repeatedly.

2. It has been raining for days. Okay, maybe not. But it feels like it. So much so that I had to put away my regular crochet project (which will be cream, brown, and blue) and start some advance work on Christmas presents... which will be made with this lovely Moonlight Mohair from Lion Brand Yarn. It has bright colors and some sparkle, making it perfect for rainy days and gift-giving.

3. I would like to know why so many yarns are mostly acrylic.

4. And why doesn't anybody produce a nice soft cotton yarn in a large skein. Why does my yarn only come in 3.5 oz. skeins? My favorite yarn of late is "I Love this Cotton" from Hobby Lobby, by the way.

5. I have a terrible habit of picking up yarns "just in case." Especially at my local Big Lots-- don't judge! But come on... if I can pick up several skeins of $6-$8 yarn for $1.50, I'm not going to say no. Even if they are small.

6. Once a long time ago, I tried to use some boucle/very textured yarn. It was a disaster. I had to pull out stitches repeatedly, and it wasn't long before it was all tangled up. I told myself I would never ever ever use that stuff again. And then... I found this stuff. I thought, "No.Way.No.No.No." And then I thought, "Oh... it's so bright and happy looking. I could make a really cute blanket for Samuel. It would be perfect for him. Oh look... the name of the color is Jellybean. How can I say no?" So... those three skeins followed me home. Today, I remembered why my first instinct was to run.away. Because that stuff is a tangly mess. It's impossible to see your stitches!

7. This is not yarn-related, but I'll include it for my sister Mary, who doesn't really care about yarn, and reads my blog no matter how terrible my posts are... and lets me know when I've misspelled things. Especially in posts that criticize other people. Who probably read the title of this and said, "Sheila. Really?"

Today was the last day of school for Jeremy. And so, I am letting Samuel cry tonight. I actually had to stop in the middle of #4 to calm him down a little bit. I know that probably negates the purpose of letting him cry... but when he gets to screaming, I just don't think it's very productive. They say that you usually see the best results after three nights. By God, I hope so. I am ready for a full night of sleep.

Couponing

So... I'm trying to use coupons.

Tonight, I retail therapied at CVS and the grocery store. Here's where it went, and the regular retail price:

• Neti pot 11.99
• Bacon 2.89
• Chicken Drumsticks 4.39
• Chicken Thighs 5.24
• Dozen Eggs 1.09
• Breyer's Vanilla Ice Cream 5.19
• French Bread 1.89
• Pedicure set 9.99
• 2 Nail polishes 7.98
• French manicure stickers 2.49
  
• 2 pairs of Rubber Gloves 4.16 (these are to protect my French manicures... it was retail therapy, remember?)
  

Grand Total: $60.16

After coupons, Extra Bucks, and bonus cards, I paid...

$36.06

In which Samuel comes totally unhinged.

We got my Samuel the cutest ducky tub ever. It is inflatable and quacks when you press the beak. I thought it was a great idea-- Samuel would love it, and it wouldn't make a mess in the kitchen anymore. I mean, the kid is 20 pounds and 27.5 inches... he's getting a little big for that kitchen sink tub.

For 3 days in a row, Samuel screamed hysterically when we put him in it! Even when I got in the big tub, he was NOT.HAPPY. On the second day, we put the ducky in the living room and let him sit in it there. It was fine. Bath time comes around. Screaming ensues.

Yeah. Not sure what else to do about that.

Also, Samuel has slept all night three times. THREE. Ever. That's it. One of those was last week. Once school is over though, Jeremy is going to participate in the late-nightness. And it's going to be awesome.

I hope.

7 Quick Takes Friday (#11)

1. Remember that time that I was so excited about Jeremy's new job? Well, guess what Jeremy's current school system has done? After first telling Jeremy that his job was going to the department "coordinator, " they offered him a job in middle school science because that was "all they had left". Seriously? I mean, the man has a Masters degree. In Physics. From Virginia Tech. A governor's school offered him a job teaching Physics. Jeremy says yes and tells the current school goodbye. Thennnnn... the current school system says, "Oh wait! We have a Chemistry/Physics position available at the hoity-toity magnet school." Drama.

Now we have to investigate a bunch of crap and make another decision. That's the part that bothers me most.

2. On a happy note, we took dinner to Charlottle and Rob Melton tonight and met little Bobby. What a joyful little family!

3. After hounding us to death, Verizon finally offered us a deal that was too sweet to pass up and we renewed our contract. That means... I got a new phone. Yay!

4. Until about 2 months ago, Samuel slept great! Usually slept 9-3 and then 3-7. I didn't mind getting up and doing that middle of the night feeding AT ALL. Fast forward to... last night. When he was up 15 times. 7-8 of those were with in 10 (ten! TEN!) minutes of each other. I gave him some Tylenol tonight, hoping that it was teeth. Oh God, I hope this fixes it.

5. One of the things that I look forward to now is September! One of my favorite bloggers is helping to host a mommy-blogger get together in Sacramento, and I have every intention of attending. I also want to visit Mary in San Diego that week, since I'll be on the West Coast already. I just need to figure out what to do with my 10 month old that week...

6. Oh my God... I'm too tired to do anymore.

Oh No!

For Christmas, I was crafty and frugal. I made microwaveable heat bags out of corn-- you know, the kind you heat and put around your neck/shoulders, midsection, etc.

I have enough stuff to make about 50 more of them. Including a big 50 pound bag of feed corn sitting in my office.

I was on the floor playing with Samuel when I heard this strange noise. I thought it was the plastic bags rustling.

I kept hearing it. So... I moved the plastic bags.

Then, I put some of the corn in a clear Ziploc bag for Samuel to play with.

To my shock and horror, I saw BUGS crawling around in the bag a few minutes after sealing.

My gross conclusion?

Enough time has passed that BUGS have infested my bag of feed corn... and I can HEAR them CHEWING!

Time to throw away the corn.

Ew!

7 Quick Takes Friday (#10)

1. I wish I could have stolen this shopping cart from PetSmart... and that it was collapsible like my current stroller. I just popped Samuel's car seat onto that upper ledge (which is difficult to see in the sunlight) and loaded the bottom and the basket up with stuff. SO EASY. Seriously, it was the best shopping cart/car seat I have ever experienced.

I guess it would be almost just as good if my current stroller had a grocery basket attachment. It does have a basket underneath... but people tend to think that you're stealing if you start putting things down there before you have paid for them.

2. When I was a senior in high school... we got a new band director, whom most of us judged (probably wrongfully) and disrespected a lot. The one good thing that came of this-- several of us started to crochet. In rehearsal. To date, I have finished 2 (TWO!) blankets. One of them was a 16th birthday gift for my sister... 8 YEARS ago. The other one, I finished last night.

After browsing my friend Meghan's Etsy shop, ThreadedGoodness, I was inspired to start a really nice project. I do pretty decent casual work (read: EASY and FAST), but Meg's work is beautiful. I like to think that I'll commission her to do a piece for each of my children... someday.

Did I mention that Meg was in band with me?

3. That said... I wish people would learn to PUNCTUATE. Seriously. When the directions the really nice project that I'm starting look like this:

"Rnd 4: Ch1, sc in same st as joining, sc in each sc, dc and ch 1 sp around working (sc, ch2, sc) in corner ch3 sps, join to first sc (44 sc, 4 ch 2 sps)"

I am bound to have issues. I started my FIRST SQUARE about 6 (SIX!) times! Every time I got to the part I emphasized in my sample above, I got so confused. And then... I read the directions out loud. And I got it. In fact, I made 2 very nice squares last night.

4. I feel like this is turning into 7 Quick Takes, the Arts and Crafts edition. Oh well. Yesterday, I was researching appropriate toys for 6 month olds... because Samuel will be 6 months on Thursday. And he seems to be totally disinterested in several of his toys. The first thing I saw on the list was these soft blocks, made of organic wool felt. For $30. Six blocks for thirty dollars. $5 each... for blocks.

So, I took myself over to Hobby Lobby (the name of which, always makes me giggle) and purchased some plain, manmade, not-organic felt. Then, I had an intensive session with the hot glue gun. This picture is the end result. These are filled with whole feed corn... which I also use to fill microwaveable heat pads... which means I have a 50 POUND bag sitting behind me here in the office.

5. Speaking of Samuel... he's getting SO big! And sturdy. And I think I hear him rolling around in the crib, even though he's supposed to be napping and I put him down almost 30 minutes ago. Anyway. I put him in the shopping cart seat for the first time this week. SO!CUTE! I'm excited because now I can use the shopping cart cover that I bought. I don't really care about the germ-protection aspect... it just looks like it will be comfortable and entertaining.

6. Baby Bobby Melton was discharged from the hospital and sent home on Wednesday! YAY!! I'm sure that prayers are still wanted and welcome.

7. At some point in her college life, I gave my sister a moka pot. I found it, still in the box, in her things last week, while I was sorting through some boxes she left with us when she went to live in Spain. Since I know she has another one in her apartment in San Diego, I knew she wouldn't mind donating to the cause of my sanity. I've never been so glad to take back a gift in all my life.