Sorting through baby clothes

So, fall is officially here. Yay! I love fall. The autumn season has always been a favorite of mine. It used to be that fall was something I associated with starting a new year of school, going back, something new, something fresh. But since 2000, I have happily associated fall with the beginning of my relationship with my husband, Daniel. We went on our first date on August 16th, 2000, but because he was leaving the area for his first year of college, I didn't see him after August 22nd, not again until mid-September. The following year I took tour buses and trains out to Pittsburgh to visit him, and the year after that I moved with him to Pittsburgh. Oh, and two years after that our daughter was born. And lastly, the year after THAT we conceived our son. For those still playing along, that's 2001, 2002, 2004 and 2005. ;)

Alyssa is all ready for the fall. She really hasn't grown too much since last year (just upwards!), so all of her pants from last year fit her just fine. She inherited my short legs, so at least this year most of her jeans won't be dragging the ground. I seriously have to roll up the cuffs on 90% of her pants. It's ridiculous!

Ryan, on the other hand, not so ready.... he has new shirts, about ten of them. But he needs pants. I wasn't sure what size pants he had leftover from last year, so I decided to wait on buying new ones until I checked out his drawers. Well, I went through them yesterday, and he's down to one pair of jeans and two pairs of cargo pants. Ridiculous! That kid grows too much. He was wearing 24mo/2T in the summer of 2007, here we are in the fall of 2008 and 5T fits him now. In comparison, Alyssa is wearing 5T loosely, and she's almost two years older than him. Well, that's my chunky baby.

So guess who has to go shopping for more baby clothes. Or should I say toddler clothes, since there's nothing really BABY about a whopping 5 in toddler sizes!

Psst... anyone else who has a horse-sized toddler like mine, check out eBay for onesies. I found a bunch (new! in packaging!) by Gerber that are 4T! I'm stoked!

I love to go baby shopping

I think one of the most exciting things to shop for is a new pet or a new baby. I recently got a pug (four months old, female, beautiful, very well behaved and well mannered), and shopping for her was a lot of fun. But there's only so much to shop for for a dog. A baby, on the other hand, requires a lot of preparation! Baby furniture is just the tip of the iceberg, and even that is a lot. Cribs, playpens, strollers, car seats, high chairs... then there are the optional things like slings, baby swings, cradles, bassinets. But the fun stuff, the REALLY fun stuff, are the baby clothes, diapers, bibs, towels, and accessories like pacifiers, diaper bags and diapering essentials, breastfeeding supplies, toys and musical CDs.

When you think about it, it's amazing that there are literally thousands of items to buy for a new baby. I know we spent a decent chunk of change and time on new baby things for Alyssa. With our second child, we didn't have to get the big things, but we needed a lot of new baby clothes and baby gifts, since we were having a boy, and obviously he wouldn't look too good in pink or purple. ;)

What was your favorite baby purchase?

Tired, getting worn down

I am sleepy. It's only 11pm, but I could totally crash right now. A week ago that wouldn't have been the case. That just goes to show you how much can change in just a few days time. Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday were exhausting for me. I got a full night's sleep last night, but tonight I'm not sure how things will pan out, because I have a lot of work to do.

In addition to work, I have laundry to finish up, and a desk to organize. I was going to fix my old laptop for Dan (weird driver issue), but Jason is over and is taking care of that for me (thanks Jason!). I also need to go through Alyssa's drawers. She has a lot of fall and winter clothing in them from last year, and I want to try everything on her and weed out what doesn't fit. Ryan has a bottom drawer filled with clean and in good condition baby clothes that I need to donate, but I'm waiting until I get Alyssa's clothes sorted out. Then I'll run everything over to a local shelter at once.

Appropriate Game Atire

Why is it whenever Football season rolls around, the stores go crazy! Everyone is wearing nfl jerseys, or crazy sports apparel in the upcoming teams colors. You would think that this time of year was one huge party especially, on Sunday's and, Monday's!

Don't get me wrong, I don't have anything against team spirit or football or anything, I have a favorite team that I cheer for on game day. I actually sit with my husband through the four quarters of heavy hitting and touch down passes if there are any. I think I enjoy it more now that its more that my husband explained to me. Now we spend these two days out of the week watching the Football game together, kind of our date night!

I find myself looking at all the NFL football jerseys & NFL apparel online. Now that we have date nights set, isn't it appropriate that I have an appropriate new outfit? I'm even thinking of painting my up my face too!

Charming Baby Clothes Make the Perfect Gift!

I was out shopping the other day for a little gift for a friend who just had a baby. Everywhere I went they all had the same style of baby clothes. I really wanted to pull out all the stops and, give her something that was fresh and, new. I was glad to find this adorable little layette set that was perfect. I found it at Babybox.com and, it came completely packaged in a nice tulle bag, ribbon and gift card. How perfect! A charming baby gift, that my friend just loved. And, it was as simple as a click of the mouse!

Back to school time is here!

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock these past few weeks, you can’t help but notice all of the “Back to School” sales at all types of stores. Be it clothing for your little one or even bedding. I mean after all, what says “Back to School” better than a new updated coordinated bedroom. I don’t know about you, but I and my three children have all made it through school, including college just fine without having new coordinating bedding each school year.

And, then school supplies themselves are like looking for that all elusive three leaf clover. Between my two sons, ages 10 and 13 respectively, looking for just the right backpack that conveys not only a sense of self but also sends just the right message to everyone else too. It’s unbelievable the array of both color and style out there. In my day, there were fewer to pick from. Yet, I believe it was easier to choose the necessary items with less fuss than there is today. Not everything is cracked up to be what they are advertised as nor do they deliver the inferred promise of success either. Just as in my day. It is especially true today, good old-fashioned work ethics count more towards success than the advertised promises we see today bombarding us from all forms of the media.

We had a bassinet for our daughter

When I was pregnant with my daughter, I decided that I wanted to have a bassinet for her. I thought cribs were too big, bulky and overwhelming for such a tiny baby. Furthermore, a crib couldn't exactly be squeezed into a small bedroom, or put alongside a bed. I thought bassinets were the perfect choice, because they're small and often portable, thanks to most of them being equipped with wheels.

Well, we were both working low paying jobs at the time, had the expenses of moving and buying the more necessary baby furniture (car seat, stroller, high chair), and so we didn't have room in our budget for a bassinet, let alone the small and often expensive baby bedding that we would need to outfit it.

Imagine my surprise when my husband's grandmother invited us to her house when I was nine months pregnant with our daughter. She gifted us with a bassinet that was filled to the brim with baby clothes, small baby toys and baby books.

I wound up giving away the bassinet to a pregnant co-worker a year later, which coincidentally was just a few weeks shy of me getting pregnant with our son, but it worked out for the best because we were able to borrow a cradle for the first few months of his life.

Now all of the baby things are gone, including cribs, bassinets, cradles and baby bedding. My daughter is turning four in October, and my son just turned two in July. Needless to say, they're both in regular beds - twin beds!

What's a Do!

I have noticed that people are no longer wearing those horrible outfits while golfing. That makes me happy! I always would cringe when I would drive by a golf course and, see all those people in plaid shorts, bright shirts, and, those funny looking golf shoes! Now that the fashion industry has taken hold, the ladies golf apparel has become something that I would even wear, on or off the course! I'm not the fashion police but, I do take notice of what is in style and what is a obviously a don't! This outfit would be great for a day of golf, working out, or running errands. The point being is that when you are in public you want to look good!

I remember when...

Go Steelers! My husband and I lived in Pittsburgh for a little under two years. Actually, he lived there for three and a half years -- he moved there for college in August of 2000, and I joined him in August of 2002. We moved back home a year and a half later, just a few days before Christmas (yes, driving a uhaul from one end of the state to the other during the mad last minute holiday rush was INSANE. I promise we'll never repeat it!).

I loved Pittsburgh. It's going on five years since we left that city, and I still miss it. City life is a pain and expensive, but it's convenient and it's definitely quaint. Of course, I think I reflect more upon my memories of my husband and I together more than I do about the city, but it's still very special to me, and I would like to go back to visit.

One thing that really got me about Pittsburgh was the borderline RABIDNESS people had in terms of enthusiasm for football and the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Pittsburgh Pirates got some attention, but NOTHING like what the Steelers got. You would think it was an official holiday, the way people would dress up in nfl jerseys. The freakin' stores would even decorate, and employees (I worked at a K-Mart and a Target) would be strongly encouraged to wear the team colors (black and yellow).

Football never has been my thing, nor will it ever be. My husband enjoys it somewhat, so I'm thinking of getting him some kind of official jersey. I might even get a youth NFL jersey for our son, so they can dress up and be all GO TEAM! together.