random monday (with 20% more parentheses) January 28, 2008

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK REUNION? EEEEE!!

Seriously, I’m not sure if they are talking about a tour, or a single concert, or what, but wow, what a throwback. I remember my first concert ever, NKOTB, with my mom, her friend, and her friend’s two daughters. I was in third grade. I had to leave school early that day to get fitted for my retainer. But I had also just gotten my hair permed so that I would look good for Jonathan. It was at the Dean Dome. I got the tickets for Valentines Day. That would have been 1990. Every girl in my grade went to that concert and went home and slept on her NKOTB sheets. It’s hard to believe that was almost 20 years ago. Whoa. “Didn’t I blow your mind this time, didn’t I?”
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The 5 Most Wasteful Baby Products

Wow, I’m not sure who this woman is but…we have 4 out of 5 of these products. I don’t pretend to be “green” but I can tell you that we could not (and still cannot) live without the video monitor, END OF STORY. The sleep positioner was to try to mitigate the effects of plagiocephaly (”flat head”), and was doctor-recommended. Although we don’t have the Diaper Genie, we have (and love) the Diaper Champ (which does not use special bags). And the wipes warmer…yeah, I have no explanation for that. We don’t have the “motion sensor” (in fact I hadn’t heard of it), but the one thing I have repeatedly wished for is a poop/smell sensor…it’s hard to tell over the beloved video monitor if Sherman is having a hard time settling down because he’s got a nasty diaper.
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Train took Sherman to the pediatrician Friday for a phantom ear infection (i.e. he was digging in his ear Thursday but there was no fluid). She told Train we needed to take away the pacifier. Apparently Sherman is holding it on the left side of his mouth which is why his front top and bottom teeth don’t touch. Yuck. I had actually noticed that the teeth weren’t even but I figured they just weren’t done coming in yet. Except that the last of them came in about 8 months ago. So, whatever.

Weaning from the pacifier has really been the one thing NOT on my radar. I was focused on the impending room change and the transition from crib to bed. We say all the time that taking it away would probably allow him to talk more, and maybe reduce his drooling. And he really doesn’t need/want it until he sees it. But sometimes it is the quickest and easiest way to calm him down, so we don’t go anywhere without one.

So all weekend he did not have a binky during the day and of course he did fine. Nap time and night time are going to be a little tougher but (knock on wood) I think we’ll be fine. Typically, Sherman goes into the crib with a binky in his mouth, and then I give him one to hold once he is tucked in. On Saturday I was just going to give him one to hold, but he had a massive fit when I turned off Elmo for bedtime and it was the only way to calm him down. He did fine with just one binky. On Sunday I hid a binky in the corner of the crib during his nap and I’m not totally sure (it was hard to tell on the video monitor) but I don’t think he saw it until he woke/sat up (he had it in his mouth when I got him out of the crib). Last night I “hid” it again. Tonight I will either hide it or not put one in at all. And actually, it’s liberating. One less thing to worry about checking off a list of milestones. I am really proud of Sherman.
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This weekend my best girlfriends from college came to visit. It was so nice to have everyone together, most of them haven’t seen Sherman since last summer or longer. He had so much fun with all of them, and we got to go out for a girls-only lunch and to see 27 Dresses, which was amazing. As someone who sees a movie in the theater about twice a year, I am so glad we went to see it. It was hilarious, and who doesn’t like Katherine Heigl? It was truly laugh-out-loud hysterical and even more so because of who I was with. And some great previews…Fool’s Gold and Made of Honor! Lots of yummy guys on Saturday.
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My seriously-in-need-of-a-nail-trim toddler gave me a little scratch on the bridge of my nose at some point this weekend. I remember something stinging, but I usually have no battle scars from the daily abuse of motherhood, so I didn’t think about it until after my shower this morning when it was bleeding. It’s really not that big, but pretty much right in between my eyes. So now my nose is bleeding from the inside and outside.
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I finally saw Gone With the Wind this weekend thanks to Netflix (I just recently finished the book - my mom’s all-time favorite - after New Years). It was great, but I have to say those of you who haven’t read the book are totally cheating. I can’t get over how much they left out…most of all Scarlett’s first two children. Of course they couldn’t film the entire book, that would take days to watch, but I feel about this movie like I do the Harry Potter movies and books…you really can’t appreciate one without the other. The movie to give you faces and scenes to help enhance the book, and the book to give you the true background and inner thoughts of the characters in the movie.