I Hate Miscarriages

Today would have been my due date from the time I almost made it to the second trimester. What have I learned from over a year of trying to conceive. I no longer consider anything before eight weeks pregnant. I know that just because you see a heartbeat doesn't mean that the baby will survive. I've learned to stay in my backyard because everybody around here is pregnant or has a new baby. I've become superstitious, I won't buy anything baby related while I'm pregnant.
There will be no other posts today.

Party President

I didn't vote for George Bush, and I am not a fan of his policies. But he is the living president I would invite to a cookout. I always say that I am too in awe of Jimmy Carter, I'm afraid Bill Clinton would try feeling me up, and that I wouldn't stop former President Bush if he tried feeling me up. But George Bush seems like he would be loads of fun. Just look at him at he Air Force Academy graduation.
I don't know why the graduates are so happy though. Iraq is probably in their future. In thirty years will presidential contenders be fighting over whether or not they went Iraq?
Photos by the Associated Press

"I Am Not A Paper Cup..."

It just, just arrived. And I love it. Bought it at Charles and Marie, it took like two months for them to get it back into stock, they sent me the wrong item last month, but it was so worth it. It is bigger than I thought. And the porcelain is of a very nice quality. If only it came in an even bigger size. $20

What Is Sears Thinking

Someone should tell LLCoolJ that kids' clothes should not be "relaxed and sexy." He should know better he has daughters. And why is Sears even letting him design children's clothing. As much as I make fun of Tori Spelling, I think that she would do a better job. And she would have jumped at the chance.

Orisinal Games by Ferry Halim

Do you have a child that loves to play computer or video games? Then check out these games over at Orisinal. They are so simple to play but the images are utterly beautiful. They are perfect for a preschooler. Don't pretend that your kid doesn't play computer games.

I Used To Love Boon

Their feeding line is so cute. But then I saw the list of stuff they gave to D-list celebrities at the Silver Spoon event. If you are going to give stuff away to celebrities give it to someone people actually want to emulate. Most of the people they gave stuff to are just reality TV stars these days. Tori Spelling who will go anywhere they are giving stuff away free was there. They gave her everything in the feeding line. And of course someone is going to say nice things about the free stuff you just gave them. A lot of this stuff will probably end up being regifted. You never see celebrity parents like Halle Berry or Nicole Kidman at these events. They know to get their free stuff discreetly.
link Babychic101

Bodebo

These summer outfits by Bodebo look so carefree and beautiful.

Nanami Cowdroy

Looking for a sophisticated print for your child's room. Skip the bright colors or the blah neutrals and go for graphic black and white. Splurge on a print by Australian artist Nanami Cowdroy.

Yuck

I know this ad campaign is supposed to help, but....Am I the only person who finds these ads offensive.
Link Ads of the World

Shame On Wendy Portillo

This bitch of a teacher allowed her kindergarten students to vote a boy who was later diagnosed with autism out of the class. But not before letting them tell him that he was disgusting and annoying. And they did it by a 14:2 margin. Alex Barton is no longer attending class. Forget about the boy having autism, she shouldn't be able to get away with doing this to any child. Somebody needs to be fired.
This sounds a lot like what happened with my son when he was in the sixth grade. He had to be removed to the school. Luckily his elementary school took him back for another year. Even though they had to hire a teacher just for him because they are only equipped to handle up to the fifth grade. But his middle school allowed kids to pick on him, and tried to send him to a school for the severely handicapped. Just three years later he is completely mainstreamed, and has around a 3.0 gpa. But they still won't admit that they could have handled things differently.
link Parentdish

Tori Spelling

Does Tori Spelling have any career these days other than professional pregnant woman? I predict she'll be pregnant within a year of this one escaping her womb.
In other news, I think another neighbor is pregnant. There is something in the water. Even with my fertility problems I have no problem getting pregnant, staying pregnant is another story. There is a house for sell down the street, and it is probably cheaper than a year or so of fertility treatments.

Britax Vigour

Not all strollers have to cost a fortune. The Britax Vigor looks a lot like a Bugaboo, but most strollers these days look a lot like the Bugaboo. It costs about a third of the price. What do you give up for that savings: it weighs in at 29lbs, there are only two positions for the shoulder belts, there are only two recline positions, and the suspension probably isn't as great. But it still does many of the things that a more expensive stroller would do. It is compatible with the Britax Companion car seat and there are accessories that will make it look and cost much more expensive. And it is priced under $300 here, here, here, and here.

Links To Great Recipes

Here are links to the recipes for the side dishes I served on Memorial Day. They were all very quick and delicious. I made a mandarin orange salsa, new potato and dill salad, and a cucumber salad(I used red peppers instead of green to give it some color).

How Much Is Too Much For A Stroller?

I love the Concord Neo stroller, and when I saw the lightweight carbon, black version I was smitten. Until I saw the price, £999 for just the pushchair and £1699 for the travel system. And that's pounds not dollars, so double the price if you live in the US.
Each stroller is hand-crafted of high tech carbon, so each is unique. The padding is made of merino wool, and there are leather handles available in matching colours. And there is a choice of air filled tires or solid foam tires to lighten the weight. The travel system includes a matching Ion car seat and a folding Scout carrycot (not the much better Proton).
I still love it, but it is two and a half purse units (my love of handbags has been replaced with a love of strollers). I like it to be a one to one ratio. Maybe I just need to start buying more expensive purses. The Concord Neo Carbon is cheaper the a Hermes Birkin.
Also of Interest:
Concord Neo
Joolz Bloom By Mamas & Papas

Church Files Restraining Order Against Autistic Boy

After trying to accommodate the family of an autistic boy, Bertha's Church of Saint Joseph filed a restraining order preventing him from attending mass. He was disrupting the service, knocking people over (including the elderly), urinating in the church (adult diaper anyone?), spitting, and bolting from the church and starting someone else's car. The church offered to perform the mass at home (which most will do for the sick), or to provide him a room at the church with a tv. Just imagine the sensory overload of attending church; all of the noise, the people, the smells. But the mother wasn't having it.
I feel sorry for the family, sometimes you feel trapped at home. But the church has to protect the safety of the rest of the parishioners. My son has autism, and I would never take him somewhere that he would endanger others. He is terrified of doctors and needles. I sedate him before taking him to the lab because I know that he may hit a lab technician, or move when they are poking him and cause him unnecessary pain. And we go over what to expect at the doctors office starting two weeks before an appointment. Just because a child has autism doesn't mean that the rules do not apply. It is the rare child that wants to sit through church anyway.
WCSH6.com via Perez Hilton of all places.

Leebruss Pushchairs

I love European strollers. The only innovation in American strollers seems to be the Orbit. The 3Tec, by the same people who manufacture the Zoom, is a lightweight aluminum stroller with the suspension under the seat. There is an actual spring under the seat. The handles are adjustable. And it can take the very popular Maxi-Cosi car seat.
Then there is the Take Off which is ideal for traveling. It folds into it's own carry case which can be wheeled through busy airports and train stations like a suitcase.

Finally

Someone has finally stood up to baby store Petit Tresor for the constant leaking to the press. I don't understand why celebrities shop there. They have accused the Cruises of spending $350-400,000 on Suri's clothes in the past two years (probably true or close to it). Tom Cruise's lawyers have issued a cease and desist letter to the store in order to stop them from speaking about their purchases "whether true or false". Why not just shop somewhere else? There are other stores. When asked by TMZ about it Andy Behrman, Petit Tresor's spokesman, replied, "Are we allowed to comment?"Here are my earlier rants about the store.
Source TMZ

Recipes

I tried a couple of new recipes. For tonight's dinner I made Salt, Pepper, and Chili Shrimp. The recipe calls for squid, but I thought the shrimp would go over better with my mother who eats like a fat child. I kind of burnt the shrimp, I'm horrible at frying things. But all in all the dinner turned out well.
Link Stuff Yer Bake
The other recipe was for chocolate and rose flavoured marshmallows. They turned out well except for the fact that I didn't have parchment paper and used plastic wrap. It stuck like a freeloading boyfriend. But you never learn unless you try. We will be making s'mores this weekend, at the stove if the wind doesn't die down. Thank the cooking gods for gas stoves, we make s'mores all winter long.
Link Chocolate & Zucchini

I Love A Little Dress

Isn't this J.Crew dress deliciously sweet? $48

Nonjetable Progressive Child's Bed System

I love this toddler bed. It's not just a bed, it comes with three side tables that attach to the bed and provide extra storage and seating. The headboard can be placed in several positions to prevent the child from rolling out. There is a choice of white or black birch. I also love that the company is showing the very modern child's bed with a traditional crochet blanket. I think they are called granny squares, at least that's what my granny calls them. But back to the bed, it costs 1300 Euro and last time I checked the exchange rate was a Euro cost $1.64.

A Toy Box Like No Other

The TableBox toy box by In Your Room is a toy box in disguise as a nice piece of adult furniture. There is an under box on castors which slides into a bent wood table. You can barely tell that it is a place to hide toys. $939.95

Frances & Co. Prints

These stretched canvas prints are too adorable. The toys belong to the photographer's daughter. Available on Etsy, $32.
From Sweet Paul

Tree

For the second year in a row a piece of our front tree has broken. The cracking sounded like thunder. And for the second year in a row they have trimmed out just the bit that fell. And we can't cut it ourselves because just trimming it will garner a $1-3000 fine. Hopefully they will take it down this time. Which is to bad because it was a great shade tree, covered the whole lawn. And it broke most of my rose bushes, I am heartbroken.

Scholastic Bookfairs

It's book fair time at my youngest son's school. I volunteered to help because no one else does, even though I am a known child hater. But I have a problem with the books that Scholastic sends to it's book fairs. They all seem to be tied in to cartoons, tv shows, and movie. I ended up buying two Speedracer books (in order to get him to hurry up and buy something). All the books seemed to be from Speedracer, Hannah Montana (not selling), High School Musical, Indiana Jones, and the like. What's missing, all the classic children's books. Gotta go the tree out front just fell into our house.

Uberstix Building Kit

Hammacher Schlemmer has the 1051 piece set of Uberstix building pieces on sale for $49.95 (normal price $89.95). The pieces can be used to build a tower up to five feet tall.

Pretty Lighting

Looking for a chandelier to hang in your Jennifer Lopez knock off nursery. This is a pretty one that is the scale of a more realistic sized baby room. $1500

Confessions Of A Bad Mother

My youngest son rarely speaks in public. There are people who have known him his whole life who have only heard a handful of words from him. But get him home and he never shuts up. By the end of the day I am fatigued. It wouldn't be so bad if he was just talking, but he is a questioner. And I find myself having come up with answers to absurd questions off the cuff. Not the normal kid questions like "Why is the sky blue?" or "Where do babies come from?" I have answers for those questions. But questions like "Why is there pollution?" or "What are they saying?" when someone is speaking Japanese. The boy seems to think that I should have an encyclopedic knowledge of Japanese movie monsters from the 1950s and 60s. Or even worse he wants to know how they made the bugs so big in those fifties giant bug movies. He really does love the primitive animation. By the end of some days I wish he would just shut up and go play video games like a normal kid.

Christina Aguilera

We get the hint Christina, you had the baby, you lost the weight, and you were left with enormous breasts. But maybe it's time to cover the tatas up a bit. The veins are making them look a little on the blue side, to match the dress I guess. Those things are huge, and they will still look huge under something with a higher neckline.

Klean Kanteen

Klean Kanteen will not be accepting orders on their stainless steel water bottles for the next week or so. I wanted to order a couple, instead of sending plastic water bottles to school with my boys. I really hate the fact the school encourages them to just trash the bottles. At home we use them to automatically water plants, but they never bring the bottles back home. But the BPA hoopla has increased demand for the Klean Kanteen. They also sell insulated holders to keep the water cool, which is nice because of all the 100 degree plus days.

Record Highs

The last few days we have be suffering from record highs (107). Which is a nice way of saying it is hot as hell. Friday it was so hot that the glue on my false eyelashes melted. I spent a lot of time floating in the boys' kiddie pool, I am so glad I upgraded to a bigger one.

Class of 2008

Gretchen Wilson finally graduated from high school. Gretchen, who has made a fortune in country music, did it to be a good example to her daughter.

source oh no they didn't

More Angelina Jolie

It must suck having the same obstetrician as Angelina Jolie. He is following her around France awaiting the arrival of her twins. Just like he did before the birth of Shiloh. He just drops all his other patients and goes to whatever country she plans on giving birth in. If she must have "that" doctor maybe she should stay closer to his practice. Hey Angie, France isn't a third world country. They probably have lots of great doctors. Lots of babies are due in August, there really isn't much to do in the middle of winter but have sex. But if he's your OB/GYN he won't be attending your birth. Maybe you should find a less starstruck doctor. That way he will learn to value all his patients.

Buy Less Baby Gear

Do you have a Graco Snugrider car seat? Then you may need the Graco Snugglider, just snap in the car seat and you have a swing. Then fold it flat and store it away. $49.99

Etsy Baby Bibs

Rikrak makes one off and limited edition baby bibs out of vintage fabrics. They would make a lovely baby gift. $21