Holy Bloomin' Grass, Batman!

In case anyone was wondering what grass looks like in an Indiana summer when you don't mow it for a week and a half, here you go... When we got back from Vegas on Sunday, we came back to a forrest. It took Mark a couple hours to mow the front and back, and he now has blisters on his hands. Here's a view of the half-cut lawn, and the cut side is all full of grass clippings. Not sure what to do with those (there's too many to rake up and throw out), so we'll just see what happens...

Check out this view of the lawn mower. The entire motor part was almost completely covered with grass. I blocked the dogs out of their dog door in fear that if they got in the backyard, they would disappear into the grass and could get mowed over. These are the sickening thoughts I have in my head and why I am doomed to be freaking out every day once this baby gets here...

Newborn necessities

So we were thinking we had this baby thing under control. We figured we had the necessities, the 3 C's (clothes, crib, car seat). Then we talked to some family and found out it is a little more complicated than that. We went on line and found a list of newborn necessities, and now we realize we are missing a few things. Here is the recommended list and how it stacks up against what we have.

Newborn necessities checklist
A master list for moms and dads

Here's a checklist of what you should have on hand before your baby arrives.

Tooling around

__1/1__Car seat.

__1/1__Stroller.

We thought we were off on the right track with one category filled, but then we continued to look down the list and realized we have a long way to go.

Beds and linens

__1/1__Crib.

__1/1__Crib mattress.

__1/1__Bassinet/cradle (if you don't want to put your baby in a crib right away).

__1/3__Two to three fitted crib sheets.

__4/4__Four or more waffle-weave cotton receiving blankets for swaddling baby

__1/2__Two mattress pads.

__0/2__One to two waterproof liners (for crib or bassinet).

Diaper duty

__0__Diapers.

Disposables: One 40-count package of newborn (birth weight under 8 pounds) or of size 1 (birth weight over 8 pounds).

Cloth: Two to three dozen, plus six to 10 snap-on, water proof outer pants, and two to three sets of diaper pins, eight to 10 all-in-ones or diaper system covers;two to three dozen diaper system inserts (none of these for us, thank you).

__0__Diaper pail (with refills or bags as needed).

__0__Diaper bag.

Dressing baby

__4/4__Four sleeping outfits or one-piece sleepers with attached feet.

__0/6__Six side-snap T-shirts. (Do you really need these???)

__4/6__Four to six one-piece undershirts that snap around the crotch.

__2/1__A small baby cap (although the hospital will probably give you one).

__0/6__Six pairs socks/booties.

__way too many/2__Two to three soft, comfortable daytime outfits.

Get only a few items in newborn size. Then, go forclothing in the 6-month size--your baby will grow into it quickly. But don't buy baby sleepwear that's too big--it's a safety hazard.

__0/1__Cotton sweater or light jacket.

Summer babies

__0/1__Brimmed hat.

Winter babies

__0/1__Snowsuit with attached mittens or fold-over cuffs, or heavy bunting.

__0/1__Heavy stroller blanket.

__0/1__Warm knit hat.

Feeding time

If you're planning to breast-feed:

__0/3-5__Three to five nursing bras.

__0/1__A box of washable or disposable breast pads.

__0/1__Breast pump if you expect to use one (manual or electric).

__0/4__Four small baby bottles with newborn nipples for storing expressed breast milk.

__0/1__Bottle-drying tree.

__0/1__Bottle brush.

__0/1__Insulated bottle holder for diaper bag (the hospital may give you one).

__0/3__Three packs of cloth diapers or burp cloths.

If you're planning to bottle-feed:

__0/4-5__Six 4- to 5-ounce bottles, plus nipples, rings, and a dishwasher basket if you use a dishwasher.

Bathing/Grooming

__0/1__Plastic infant bathtub.

__1/3__Three soft hooded towels.

__1/2__Two packs of baby washcloths.

__0/1__Baby body wash that doubles as shampoo.

__0/1__Pair of blunt-tip scissors or baby-sized nail clippers.

__0/1__Zinc-oxide-based diaper rash ointment.

__0/1__Soft brush and comb.

__0/1__Mild laundry detergent.

Medicine chest essentials

__0/1__A pain-and-fever reducer recommended by your baby's doctor, such as Infant's Tylenol.

__0/1__Cotton pads/swabs.

__0/1__Nasal aspirator.

__0/1__Digital rectal thermometer. (Don't know about the rectal part; maybe an ear one or something a little more humane!)

__0/1__Rubbing alcohol.

__0/1__Petroleum jelly.

Keeping baby happy

__5/4__Pacifiers.

Extras: Nice but optional

__0/1__Baby monitor.

__0/1__Changing table.

__0/1__A rocker or glider.

__0/1__Sling or strap-on soft carrier.

__1/1__Boppy, a doughnut-shape pillow designed to make holding baby during breastfeeding or bottlefeeding easier (although we don't have a pillow case for it yet).

__0/1__Nursing coverup. Attaches at your neck and allows for private breastfeeding when you and yourbaby are in public.

__0/1___Infant swing.

__0/1___Bouncy seat.

__0/1__Night-light.

As you can see, other than the traveling system, sleeping system, and everyday clothes, we have quite a long way to go!

CHICAGO - Harry Potter Style!

Well, I have no REAL pictures to go with this post (they didn't allow any in the exhibit), but since everyone insists these posts are like our "journals," I thought I better document. Mark and I went to Chicago over Memorial Day Weekend, and it was AWESOME! We started by heading down to the Museum of Science and Industry for the Harry Potter Exhibition. It was definitely the highlight of our trip. We saw tons of paraphernalia from the movies. It's amazing how many details go into making the films. I never stopped to think about it until we saw all the props. Outside the exhibit, in the main entrance of the museum, sat the flying Ford Anglia!

Once inside, we were greeted with pathetic English accents (although I think they all thought they were good...), sorting several children into their houses. Miraculously, just as each of the kids wished, they all turned out to be Gryffindor's.

Next, we got to see the actual Hogwart's Express portrayed on the movies! It was a lot smaller than I expected it to be. And no, I am not just being gullible, it was actually the one pictured on the movie (although obviously not the "set" where they appear inside the train).

We then saw several of the pictures plastered on the walls of the castle, including the "fat lady." We even got to hear her sing so "beautifully" that she broke glass. So funny...

Gryffindor Tower came next, complete with Harry's and Ron's four-poster beds. They even had the curtains that Dumbledore claimed he set fire to while he was in school. Several of Ron's horrible hand-knitted sweaters were on display there as well.

We saw Umbridge's Office. It was just as sickeningly sweet looking as it was on the movie. The entire set-up was there. It was quite impressive. It looked just like this picture (with the exception that the ugly hag wasn't sitting there in it).

We saw Dobby! He was quite cute, as opposed to Kreacher, who was just mean and nasty looking...

We also saw Buckbeak (he was huge!) and a couple of the centaurs, who were truly freaky looking.

Hagrid's hut was there as well, complete with his huge furniture and the hatching dinosaur egg, Norbert.

We also saw seriously freaky Death Eater masks and costumes, as well as Lord Voldemort's clothing when he came back in the graveyard.

One of the freakiest things we saw was the Dementor! I never knew it had a spine... I thought it was just a hooded black figure, but it had a pelvic bone with vertebrae extending all the way down and forming a sort of tail. Freaky looking. I would have totally crapped my pants if I were a kid...

That is just the beginning of all the awesome artifacts we saw... Of course, all of their wands were there, in addition to much of the clothing (including Ron's horrible dress robes) from the movies.

All in all, it was quite spectacular, especially for two avid Harry Potter fans, such as ourselves!

FENWAY PARK

Mark and I fell in love with this Thomas Kinkade painting of Fenway Park and thought it would be just perfect in Boston's room. That is, until we saw the price tag. So Mark decided he would do his own rendition of Fenway. He started by penciling in a field, stadium, and background. He has just started filling in the drawing with oil paints, and I think it is coming along nicely. It still has a long way to go, and we will post more pictures along the way, but hopefully before Boston comes, we will have a finished product. Way to go, Mark!

Time's a Wasting

Mark found a VERY bad website this week. It is nintendo8.com. It has Super Mario Bros 1, 2, and 3 as well as other popular "old school" games from nintendo, atari, sega, you name it. Paperboy, Sonic the Hedgehog, and the list goes on and on. This is my new favorite way to waste time.

Recognize this? Good 'ole original Super Mario...

And this is Super Mario 2, which I have been playing A LOT of. I was always the best at this one. Super Mario 3 was always a favorite too, but it is pretty hard to play on the computer... Give me time, though. I have lots of in class time to kill...

Boston's Room

As most of you know, Mark is VERY picky about decor when it comes to Boston's room. He wants his little boy to be ALL BOY. We quickly decided on a baseball theme for the room, and it was definitely sealed when we found this quilt and these throw pillows from pottery barn kids. The quilt has all the national league team logos, and then we got the accent pillows to go with it (the front one being the Boston Red Sox "green monster").

We looked all over the place for crib bedding to go with it, since the quilt is twin size and is actually just an accent for the room. We were going to do just plain colors, but then we found the PERFECT set that goes great with the baseball stuff. And it was on clearance at Pottery Barn Kids. We got such a steal on it! Online, it looked as though it would go great, but we were a little worried until we got it, since it was a non-returnable clearance item. But I think it looks like it was meant to be!

Here's another view of the crib all done up. We still have yet to get a bed skirt for it, and we don't know whether we even will or not. But I think it looks pretty dang cute in there. The twin quilt will be placed elsewhere in the future obviously, but I liked that it kind of shows the theme of the room. Thanks to Mark's mom for getting us the crib! I think it is absolutely perfect, and I am very excited about how it all came together.

Trucks and cars and tractors galore!

Last weekend, TJ threw a baby shower for little Boston (and for me!). While there were only four of us there (TJ, Vickie, Jessica, and me), you would never have known by the smorgasbord TJ had prepared for us! She had the cutest theme, and the food was served inside dump trucks and diggers (which had all been fully clorox wiped and saran wrapped - as if TJ would have it any other way). We had yummy chicken salad croissants, spinach and strawberry salad, ham rolls, cucumber limeade punch, M and M's and cake. Can you believe all that food was only for four people? And we actually did a pretty good job clearing most of it...

We had such a great time (as the four of us always do) just talking, laughing, doing Adam Lambert impersonations, you name it. And these girls seriously spoiled me... Check out this picture below. I put all his gifts inside his crib and had a hard time getting them all into one picture.

TJ made me the cutest bath towel with hoodie. It matches our bathroom perfectly. Actually, I almost bought this set to go in our bathroom. It will be so nice to be able to wrap Boston into something so plush and cuddly after his baths. Thanks, TJ!

And Vickie had such a cute idea: she got me her favorite children's book, Make Way for Ducklings (with the cutest little mallard duck toy to go with it) and one of Travis' favorite children's books, How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? I love books, and Mark and I had already started a collection, so this was absolutely perfect. Thanks, Vickie!

And this is quite the collection here from Jessica. You guys all did WAY too much for me! TJ apparently informed Jessica that while I do already have quite an array of clothes for Boston, I didn't have anything yet that wasn't "designer label" or that was "poopy diaper friendly." I wanted to die laughing, because that is actually quite true. I really needed stuff that would be OK for Boston to poop in! So Jessica gave me two of the cutest night gowns (back left) that have the little hand mittens on them, two one piece sleeper sets in baseball theme (that actually go quite perfectly with his room - bottom), and the cutest little cow outfit with bib (top right). I wish I had taken a picture of the pants, because the butt has a little tail embroidered on it... so funny! She also got some cute duck bath soap, and a rubber duckie that tells you if the bath water is too hot (TJ got me the same one... ha!). Thanks, Jessica!

They all made so much fun of me when I asked what the duck did. I don't know! I've never had a kid before! I had no idea there was such a thing as a toy to tell you when the bath water is just right... How cool is that! Anyway, if my wedding is any indication, I know thank you cards are not my strong suit, so I figure this is a good way to tell all three of you girls, THANKS!

Starkisha's Hot New Summer Look

Yes, we know we are dorks with our dogs... We were at the park a few weeks ago, and Starkisha wouldn't run around with Daisy because she was too hot. She kept trying to sit behind us so she could be in our shade. We felt pretty bad and thought that must suck to have that much hair in hot weather. So we decided to give her a little hair cut. This picture kind of shows the "before look" with all the long hair.

Part way through, we were thinking, what in the crap did we do?! It was really looking pretty bad...

At this point, her body was starting to look OK, but we were wondering what the heck to do with all the ear hair, leg hair, etc. And can you see the mullet on the back of her head? She freaked whenever we got close to her head with the buzzers, so it was looking pretty funky back there. We eventually had to bring out the scissors to continue.

And this is the mess we made...

As you can see we missed some spots (on her chest by her leg), but after a few touch ups later that night, she ended up looking pretty cute. We gave her ears a little trim, so she looks a little more like her puppy self, but we ended up leaving her tail long. I think she looks pretty cute.

It's A BOY!

Well, we had our ultrasound yesterday, and after much encouragement, little Boston decided to give us a peep show. My mom gave me a tip before going in: she told me to drink some orange juice a few minutes before and the sugar should wake the baby. When we got in there, he was still a little subdued, but awake at least, and was NOT pleased that the technician kept bothering him. Every time she tried to get a visual, he just kept sinking further and further down, as if he knew what was happening. Then she would give him quite a rattle, he would strike back with a quick kick or punch in retaliation, and then return right back to his previous position. So I guess we have a stubborn one on our hands, but at least we finally got to have a look. When I get access to a scanner, I will have to post some images, but until then, IT'S A BOY!

Pink or Blue?

That is the question... Well, I'll be able to answer that question on Friday, March 13th! Mark and I are going to Vegas for Spring Break (and actually leaving the dogs here with their vet), and we are going to my mom's office to find out what we are having. I am so excited, because my doctor's office waits until 20-22 weeks, and I'll be 18 weeks... So I get a sneak peak, which is awesome! I have been dying to know, so hopefully Baby Simkins cooperates with us. So start looking for a post sometime in March for the big reveal...