Happy New Year

Happy New Year!!! I predict that there is champagne in my future. And lots of it.

Vincent Baggy

This may be the perfect toddler backpack. It is sturdy and cute, just right for a growing toddler I am reminded of the cute little backpacks that Japanese school children carry. It is on sale for $32.45 on the Vincent website

Cool Stuff From Other Blogs

Orbit Baby is finally about to introduce the toddler car seat. They are saying February, but in infant product time that probably means May. It can be used with or without the base. You can leave your toddler in it rear facing until 35 pounds, or it can be used like a conventional car seat until 49 pounds. I think extended rear use is the wave of the future. The seat can also be used with the infant system stroller, which would be great for travel.$300

Available at Magic Beans when available.

From Babychic101 (the place for celebrity baby news)

Bad Mommy

Don't give little kids money for Christmas. They have barely learned to count, how are they supposed to figure out subtraction, decimals, and tax. My youngest son made his first trip to ToysRUs, the place looked like it had been looted.

Kolcraft Contours Options Stroller

Here is another affordable stroller that does a lot of the things that the expensive strollers do. But it has some things that they don't. It comes with a universal car seat attachment that fits most car seat brands, and it comes with a child's snack tray and the cup holder for the parent. The basket is really large. And it folds in one piece, albeit an approximately 29 pound piece. There is also a double version of this stroller. $139.99

Cheering Me Up Today

This news is the greatest Christmas gift ever. A woman in Britain gave birth after having eight miscarriages. I'm nowhere near eight yet. I been given the gift of hope. And nothing that comes in a box could ever compare.

From Growing Your Baby

Felt Fawn

Don't they just scream take me home. They remind me of a flocked deer ornament that has hung on my Christmas tree since the seventies. Eleven inches of felt, woodland beauty. Put one on the shelf of your nursery, they really are too cute for words. I just have one question, why don't they make these things so that kids can play with them? $45 from Fantastic Toys

Time To Relax

Christmas is finally over. It wasn't really so bad, except that my eight year old woke up at two in the morning to see if Santa had come. Santa doesn't function well after midnight. And Santa doesn't like waking at four in the morning to open gifts either. I think I will start taking down the decorations today. I am just that glad that it is over. Out of all the Jesus holidays, I think I like Easter best.

Can't Wait Until It's Over

Suffering from burnout already. I just want the 24 hours of A Christmas Story to start. I hope your Christmas will go better.

Merry Christmas:)

Graco SweetPeace

Baby swings have come a long way from the A-frame swing that I bought almost fifteen years ago. It sounded like a grandfather clock, and always looked like the boy would tip over in it. The Graco SweetPeace Newborn Soothing Center is unlike any swing before it. The SweetPeace connects to the motor at the bottom side. The seat can be detached and used as a carrier or rocker. Any Graco car seat can be used with it. There are six speeds and it reclines to three different positions. And there is an AC adaptor, so when all those D batteries go dead, there is still hope for a calm baby. I had to hand crank my oldest son's swing. And no tools are needed to assemble the swing, because who has time to find a screwdriver when they have a crying new baby. And you can plug your MP3 player into it, because lullabies get old real quick. $169.99 Available from: Baby Supermarket, BabyAge, Target, and Right Start.

Cool Stuff From Other Blogs

I don't really like gingerbread houses, even though I love the way they taste. But when I saw this one over at Fine Little Day I felt the sudden urge to build one. I love the height, and it look really easy to make. But I am busy making marshmallows and peppermint pies, so it will have to wait until next Christmas. I am a little disappointed that I don't have the time.

Cool Stuff From Other Blogs

The Joolz Bloom Stroller. Yes, it folds with the seat attached. Yes, it's higher than the Xplory. Yes, it has a carrycot. But I just love the way it looks. The aluminum and the red fabric look great together. It costs around $1025 plus shipping from Europe at Babytrader.

From Daddytypes.

Moses Basket

Can you imagine sleeping in a bed smelling of soothing lavender and camomile. I can just picture a rose cheeked baby under the shade tree next to the creek. This moses basket is made of rush woven with lavender and camomile. And to give it that special touch the handles are leather and the lining is made from antique French linen. And Rush Matters can weave the basket in other sizes. 235 British pounds, and the stand is 70 GBP. The exchange rate is so bad I no longer convert, I just buy and hope for the best. But 235 GBP should hover somewhere around $500.

Congrats Card

Is this not the coolest baby card ever? By Little Oranges and available at Cotton Idea Studio, $4.50.

Chicco KeyFit 30 Car Seat

Car seat companies finally have realized that babies are expanding along with the rest of the population. Here is another car seat that will hold your your little cherub if he happens to be thirty pounds at 11 months. Babies are supposed to triple their weight during the first year. A lot of babies weigh 8 or 9 pounds when they are born. But this seat will also work with a tiny baby. Some of us still have 4 pound babies, and this car seat will work for them too. The car seat and base weigh 20 pounds, so I estimate that the seat weighs around 12 or 13 pounds. $169.99
Available at Target, Elite Car Seats, Baby Age, and Car Seat Depot.

I'm A Disney Hatin' Mama

I have two words for the Jonas Brothers...mmmm bop.

Car Seat Cover

Here is a rather elegant foot muff for Maxi-Cosi. Manufactured by Theophile &Patachou, one of Europe's high end baby brands. I love it, but I would rather that it did not have the brand's logo. 127 Euros, which converts to an arm is US dollars.

Christmas Cards

I will be sending out two Christmas cards this year. The lovely cards that I ordered in November never arrived. I thought that once I mailed the replacements from Target, the originals would arrive. But I was wrong. At least I tied the cards together with a blue and white snow flake theme. So to everyone on my Christmas card list, expect a second card...sometime around Valentine's Day.

Peg Perego Primo Viaggio SIP 30/30

More from the car seat hunt. This is the Peg Perego Primo Viaggio SIP 30/30. The main selling point for this one is that you can use it facing backwards until your baby weighs 30 pounds or is 30 inches long. A lot of babies weigh more than the twenty pounds most car seats can carry. The little marshmallow down the street weighed 35 pounds at her 1st birthday, 2 pounds more than my eight year old. But that is a different story. It also has microfiber padding to keep the baby cool on a hot day. The car seat can be unlatched from it's base or stroller with one hand. The Primo Viaggio weighs in at 11 pounds. $250-$290

Available at: Bare Babies, Amazon, Car Seat Depot, Elite Car Seats, and Dmart.

My youngest just asked me what would Santa Claus do with his presents if he was dead. I told him that Santa would bring him his presents in heaven, and he told that Santa couldn't bring him presents in heaven. According to the eight year old philosopher you can't go to heaven unless you are dead, and Santa isn't dead.

Combi Zeus

I am looking for a car seat. I'm not pregnant yet, but due to a superstition I won't buy anything once I am pregnant. So I am currently looking for a car seat. I really like the Combi Zeus. I never used my infant seats as a carrier, they were just too bulky. The Zeus is a convertible car seat suitable for use from birth to 40 pounds. It rotates so that it is easier to put the baby into the seat. There is a buckle that indicates that if it properly fastened. Combi designed the seat with higher sides for protection during side impacts. And when forward facing you can recline the seat without removing the child. The Combi Zeus costs $300, but you are purchasing one car seat instead of two.

Available at: Bare Babies, Amazon, Elite Car Seats, and Stroller Depot.

How Much Weight To Gain While Pregnant

The Utah Department of Health can tell you. They have a tool that calculates your bmi, then tells you how much weight you should gain. You can print out a personalized chart to help keep you on track. Most American women gain too much weight, which is then very hard to lose. I somehow have gained five pounds since my last pregnancy ended. Too much food over Thanksgiving, and Christmas is going to be more of the same. And what is New Years without the champagne.

Tiffany Dress

This dress cost just 20euros, and it's 100% cotton. It is available is sizes 2 to 12 years. CdeC is designed by Cordelia de Castallane, a member of one of France's great fashion families. She worked for Ungaro for seven years. All of which makes the fact that the collection is affordable all the more surprising.

Fisher Price Stroller

Like the styling of the Bugaboo but don't want to spend almost a thousand dollars on a stroller, then maybe this Fisher Price stroller is for you. It has pneumatic tires, an aluminum frame, and the seat reverses. The suspension probably isn't as great, but it does something that the Bugaboo doesn't do, the chassis folds with the seat attached. and all for $150. On sale now for $139.99 at Tiny Ride.

More Place to Find Adiri Natural Nurser

The Adiri Natural Nurser seems as hard to find as the Wii. Here are a few places that sell them.

Right Start: Expected mid-January $12.99
A Place For Baby: Stage 1 in stock, Stage 2 and 3 expected sometime this month $15
Magic Beans: Stage 1 and 3 in stock $12.50
The Soft Landing: Expected mid to late December $11.95
Euphoria Maternity: Stage 1 in stock Stage 2 and 3 expected late December
Petit Tresor: Probably in stock because they are selling the bottles for $22. Are they smoking crack?

More Places to Preorder the Peg Perego Skate

Here are a couple more locations to preorder the Peg Perego Skate:

Lullaby Lane :I think you have to call the store to preorder. The site says in store item, but they sell other similarly priced strollers online.

Junior Baby : For Canadian readers

Mirrored Advent Calendar

It's kind of late to think about advent calendars, but I can't wait to see if this mirrored one goes on sale after Christmas. It cost $39.99 at Target now. The thought of twenty-five special treats would send my youngest into a frenzy. I wonder if the compartments are big enough for a Hot Wheels car. And the mirrored glass has a forties french feel to it.

I know that this is an extravagant gift for an eight year old, but mine spends about two or three hours a day drawing. I know that it is something he would use every day. The joy the Rembrandt pastels would give him make them worth every penny of the $49.99 price, or every second of cleaning up the pastel mess.

What I Want For Christmas

I would wear this J.Crew belt over my trench coat. On sale for $29.99.

Christmas Cards

I still haven't received my Christmas Cards. It's my fault, I procrastinated in ordering them. I am afraid that I may have to send grocery store cards. Here is a lovely card that I wish that I had seen earlier. Letterpress printed (but isn't everything these days), and very nontraditional with it's funky red brad. $4.25

High School Musical

I have two words for the starts of High School Musical and the rest of the Disney bunch...Lief Garrett.

Cool Stuff From Other Blogs

From Growing Your Baby... the 40lb 8 month old. He can't sit up or crawl because he is so obese.The mother breastfeeds the baby about 20 times a day. Maybe she doesn't know better, or maybe it has something to do with China's one child policy. My eight year just reached the 40 pound mark, and that took cutting out most fruits and veggies (not enough calories). And when the high fat diet didn't work he was finally given Megace, a drug usually used for treating poor weight gain in the elderly. So I can't imagine a 8 month old that big. I also can't imagine breastfeeding an eight month old 20 times a day, when does she have time to do anything else.

What I Want For Christmas

I wish Santa would bring me this diy 4x5 large format camera for Christmas. I would use it constantly. A used lens for Valentine's Day, and a film back for my birthday would be nice too. It takes about eight hours to build, and comes with the pinhole plate. It is made of fibreboard and has brass knobs and fittings. $325

More Menorah

I am finding it very hard to get into the holiday spirit this year. I haven't put up the tree or lights yet, and I have barely started Christmas shopping. And I love shopping more than just about anything else. I have become totally obsessed with menorah though. This black acrylic menorah is by Toby Wong. It was produced in 2002 for the Troy holiday collection. The menorah can be used with traditional candles (probably the best bet) or with bulbs. $500.

Rain, At Last!!!

Is there some unwritten rule that little children must walk through every puddle they pass.

Bike Print

This print by Sean Tubridy reminds me of being a kid in the early eighties. The good ole days when it was safe to ride your bike until the street lights without fear of some pervert trying to snatch you or showing you his thing.

Suria Baby Dress

This would be cute in the winter with a long sleeve bodysuit and a pair of tights. The dress is hand crocheted in Afghanistan, giving a group of women jobs. Crocheting is not easy (I've tried) , that is probably why it cost $95. And it is something that could be used for decades. Which is really important, there is nothing greener than passing an item on. My eight year old is still using items I bought for my fourteen year old

Hermes Baby

I have never been practical. Even when I was a broke new mom at 19, I bought my son a sterling fork and spoon. Then it was Towle's Sculptured Rose. Now that I am older with more money it would be this set from Hermes. I love how the fork reminds me of school cafeteria spork.

Computer Sleeve

Looking for a gift for a tech obsessed tween. LeSportsac offers this laptop bag in several prints and solid colors. I love this little heart print. Priced under $40

Bad Mommy

I secretly hate pregnant women. I realized this today while sitting in the obstetrician's office. They were supposed to schedule my appointment for a time when there weren't going to be so many pregnant women. I actually requested this. I walk in and I'm the only one in a crammed office who isn't pregnant. Sitting there, waiting, I realized that if I never saw another pregnant woman it would be much too soon.

1st Dibs

Some lucky kid is sleeping in this art deco burled ash crib/ toddler bed. Someone could make a fortune knocking this thing off bent wood walnut. Of course it probably doesn't stand up to modern child safety standards.

Have an extra $850 sitting around. I guess not if you have a kid that could ride this thing. But if you do, but this little danish rocking horse from the 1950s. It needs a good home, and just think your grandkids could ride it too.

Don't forget to register to vote!!

This is probably one of the most important elections ever. Make sure your vote counts! Register to vote now, so you don't forget when the time comes. Register to vote right from here, just click on the following banner:





Why should you vote? Because there are issues that concern you:
* Jobs
* Education
* Global Warming
* Iraq
* Reproductive Rights
* Gay Marriage
* Human Rights
* Iran

Find your local polling place: here

What I Want For Christmas

I usually ask for plants for Christmas. So starting around February roses and trees start arriving. That way I am still enjoying my gifts when Christmas rolls back around. I would grow orchids in this pot, something that looks like it came from outer space . $104 by Perch!

Bush keeps his pressure on Congress

President Bush is urging Congress to pass several pieces of legislation when the lawmakers return from a long holiday recess next week. Bush urged lawmakers to renew anti-terrorism legislation that allows U.S. intelligence agencies to monitor domestic phone calls without court permission, as long as one end of the conversation is reasonably believed to be outside the United States. The Bush administration also wants congress to protect telecommunications companies from lawsuits for having turned over telephone records of Americans.

He just loves destroying our privacy!

The president's top priority is to win congressional approval of his $196 billion request for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Democrats have offered to pass $50 billion of the president's requested $196 billion, but on condition that most U.S. troops leave Iraq by next December. The president says he will veto any legislation linked to those terms.

Will he ever let our troops leave Iraq?

"Instead of giving the president $200 billion to continue the war, it gives him $50 billion to shut the war down," said Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.

I don't think Bush has any intention of shutting the war down. How many more in the military have to die before he lets them come home?

A Democratic report earlier this month estimated that the wars' total costs could be as much as $3.5 trillion!

Raw Story came up with some interesting ways the money could be spent:

• The money would fund 64 million grads -- some 256 million years of schooling.
• The Senate asked for $230 million to buy three V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft that critics said would never be combat effective. That money could have provided health care coverage to the nearly 230,000 California children who do not have it
• Treating malaria. One hour's worth of expenditures on Iraq could have treated 817,000 people in Africa. The $196.4 billion spent on the war altogether could have provided doses for all 600 million people stricken globally every year, for 44 years.
• Experts from the U.S. Surgeon General to California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger say obesity is epidemic in the United States, almost as perilous to American health as tobacco. A six-week trip to a fat farm in the Catskills or Berkshires costs about $5,200. The estimated $51.8 billion spent on Iraq in 2006 could have sent the 9 million American kids aged 6 to 19 years old who need to shape up to camp for the entire summer – with car fare thrown in.
• With about 22 percent of American kids under the age of 6 living in homes below the poverty level, picking up the tab would have cost the federal government $39 billion – less than the U.S. spends in 10 months in Iraq.
• According to PayScale, Arabic translators earn an average of $80,000 per year. The total money allocated for Iraq so far could have paid 20,000 translators for 12 years.
• The Centers for Disease Control estimates 40,000 people in the U.S. are infected with HIV every year, and AIDS activists have said federal spending to assist indigent HIV patients with meals, assisted living and legal aid under the Ryan White Care Act needs to be doubled. The allocation has been frozen at $2.1 billion for the past few years, while the number of cities covered has increased, and as a result, programs in areas such as New York City, Los Angeles and San Francisco have been faced with budget cutbacks. The $2.1 billion that New Jersey alone would have to contribute to just the administration's request in October for an additional $45.9 billion would be enough to double the amount spent on the half million people eligible for the Ryan White programs.

Bush needs to take steps to end the war and put money where we need it most in the United States. He could be helping education, children, heathcare, and so many more projects. But no... lets limit our privacy more and stay in Iraq.

Christmas Cards

I finally order Christmas Cards. I chose these cards from Modern Printed Matter. They were $14 for 6. I really wish I was crafty and could make my own, but I'm not.

What I Want For Christmas

Noa Bermbibre calendar, because I am never sure what the date is. $32

Cool Stuff From Other Blogs

These Brian Killeen paintings remind me of Dr. Seuss. They are so much better than the usual nursery mural of a tree.

From Nursery at Apartment Therapy

Kalon Studio

You need somewhere to put the baby somewhere when he outgrows a cradle. Why not this lovely crib from Kalon Studios? Made from sustainable bamboo and made in Los Angeles, so you can feel good about your $1400 purchase. Another interesting feature is that the top folds down instead of sliding down. The second picture is what my dream nursery would like, but with the fairy lights and Louis Ghost chair.

Bad Mommy

I am jealous of the gratitude that Santa gets from my eight year old. So instead of giving him the Wii he wants for Christmas, I am waiting a couple of months and giving it to him for his birthday. Why let Santa get all the credit.

The Hunt for Aribert Heim "Doctor Death"

One event in history has a big impact on my life. The Holocaust. My grandmother lost all her family members, except one uncle to the Holocaust. To this day, I still can't believe something like that happened.

The thought that Aribert Heim, "Doctor Death", may still be alive and hiding makes me sick to my stomach.

"Heim scared his prisoners to death," said a survivor. The SS doctor operated without anesthetics, and Jewish inmates were poisoned with various insertions directly into the heart in order to induce death more quickly. The doctor wanted to see which poison was the fastest and cheapest way to kill people. When he was bored, it is said that he timed his patients' deaths with a stopwatch. He removed human organs without anesthetic to see how long victims lived. He is also accused of cutting off the head of a murdered Jewish prisoner and boiling off the flesh to enable the skull to be used as an exhibit.

Information regarding the campaign to hunt him down:

• Dr Aribert Heim, now 93, is highest on leading Nazi hunter and director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center Efraim Zuroff's list (above photo is Efraim holding a picture of Heim)
• The four countries involved are Chile, Uruguay, Argentina and Brazil - where large numbers of Nazis are thought to have fled following World War II.
• In July 2007, the Austrian Justice Ministry declared that they would pay €50,000 for information leading to his arrest and extradition to Austria. Other rewards include $460,000 from the Wiesenthal Center. Another reward is 270,000 Euros [130,000 euros from the German government; 130,000 euros from the Wiesenthal Center ; and 10,000 from “Operation: Last Chance.”]
• In early 2006, Heim was believed to be in Chile, where his daughter Waltraud is reported to have lived since the early '70s. Asked about her father's whereabouts by the Chilean authorities, under requests of Germany, Waltraud claimed that Aribert had died in 1993. However, when she tried to recover a million dollar inheritance from him (on an account in his name), she could not provide any death certificate.
• The former Nazi doctor continues to maintain a bank account in Germany containing more than $1.5 million. In the last five years, €300,000 have been withdrawn from his accounts and transferred to Spain and Denmark.

If you have any information about Heim and his whereabouts contact Operation Last Chance.

Austrian wanted poster for Heim:

Mid Century Children's Decorations

If you splurged on the Heirloom furniture, you need something that matches to accessorize with. My Modern Life is an eBay shop that sells mid century wood toy sculptures. The little deer shown costs $35 and the set of bears costs $398.

More Christmas Cards

I have to order Christmas cards soon, or I'll end up buying something ugly from the grocery. I considered these cute cards letterpressed with chestnuts. They are printed in green and brown soy based ink, instead of the more traditional red and green. A set of eight costs $16. They are available in Fugufugupress etsy store.

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