Archives for 2012

A weekend with the grandparents + Friday links

October 5, 2012

Happy Friday, friends! I’m so excited for the weekend. My parents will be in town, and we’re going to take a family field trip to Vala’s Pumpkin Patch. Levi was only two months old when we went last year — look how small he was! — and too young to do any actual pumpkin picking. I’m looking forward to taking him on a hayrack ride out to the pumpkin field and letting him explore. Vala’s also has a small petting zoo with goats to feed that I think Levi will really enjoy, too.

Selfishly, I’m happy my mom and dad will be to help out with Levi, who’s been coughing up a storm these past couple of days. Teething plus a cold equals one fussy toddler, and his recent 5:45 AM wake-up calls have only added to his crankiness. They’ve also made me one tired mama, and I could use a little R&R. Thank you, grandparents!

Here are some links from around the web that caught my eye this week:

Watch Mister Rogers appearing before the Senate to defend PBS
How to not suck at Instagram (PS: Do you follow me? My username is @pjfeinstein)
I want to try this pretty side ponytail
In a case of extraordinary timing, JB and I bought Bananagrams last weekend!
Would you hang a canvas print of an Instagram photo on your wall?
I love pesto, and this version looks delicious

I also write for Lifetime Moms:

Is splitting housework bad for your marriage?

Seriously cute baby clothing from Mini Boden

October 4, 2012

I don’t remember ever signing up to receive the Mini Boden catalog, but every couple of weeks a new one shows up in my mailbox anyway. I flipped through the new Mini Boden Winter 2012 catalog yesterday, wishing I had a bigger shopping budget so that I could buy Levi some of their seriously adorable baby clothing. Erm, I mean toddler clothing.

I’m pretty picky about what Levi wears. I have an affinity for stripes and appliques and an aversion to cartoon characters and silly slogans. Mini Boden’s collection of baby boy clothing meets my criteria: simple yet playful.

For those of you with daughters, Mini Boden has some pretty lovely outfits for little ladies, too.

Toddler teething: Round 2

October 3, 2012

Four months after getting his bottom two teeth, Levi is finally, finally teething again.

The top two middle ones are breaking through his swollen gums, and while we’re thrilled that he’s cutting more teeth (more teeth = easier to chew), it pains me to know that he’s hurting. Infant ibuprofen seems to temporarily take the edge off, but Levi has been acting irritable and fussy for most of the past several days.

At least he’s starting to regain his appetite. Last week he was on a hunger strike, and there are few things more frustrating to a (Jewish) mom than her child not eating.

To placate my sad teething toddler, I’ve been letting Levi suck on his pacifier throughout the day instead of only at naps and bedtime. Snacking on crunchy Fiddlesticks also seems to help, but I’m not sure if it’s because they are massaging his gums or just distracting him. In a moment of desperation yesterday I bought a teether feeder like this one at Babies R Us that came with a soft terry cloth bag instead of a mesh one. I’ll let you know if it helps ease Levi’s teething pain.

Levi is somewhat of a late bloomer; most of his same-age friends already have a small mouthful of teeth. Tell me, what was your baby’s teething timeline?

Thank you, Steve Jobs

October 2, 2012

After Levi went to bed Saturday night, JB and I spent spent an hour chatting and laughing with my parents, sister and brother-in-law. Only we were on the couch in our house in Omaha, and they were sitting around the kitchen table in New Jersey. Using FaceTime to connect, it really felt like we were all hanging out in the same room.

Thank you, Apple, for inventing FaceTime.

Do you FaceTime with faraway friends and family? How about Skype? I’m really trying to make an effort to video chat more frequently. It’s such an easy way to feel connected to the people you love when you live thousand of miles apart.

I still remember visiting Epcot in the late 80s and being mesmerized by the idea that in the future there will be “picturephones” and “videophones” that let you see the person on the other end of the line. I think that was part of the Spaceship Earth attraction. Isn’t it crazy that that future is now?

PS: Here’s a short clip from a 1955 documentary about technology in the future:

The Future is Now (1955) by donaldtheduckie

{advertisement via Paleofuture}

Don’t let your toddler play with an empty tissue box before doing this first…

October 1, 2012

Levi loves playing with empty tissue boxes. He enjoys stashing his toys and pacifiers inside of the boxes and gets a thrill out of retrieving them.

Yesterday I sat Levi in his crib with an empty tissue box, some plush blocks and a few books while I got dressed. When I went back into his room, I found him with a piece of saliva-covered plastic hanging out of his mouth, and there were other bits strewn across his mattress.

I quickly realized that I had neglected to remove the plastic lining from underneath the top of the tissue box, so, naturally, Levi discovered it, tore it off and tried to eat it. Now here’s the honest truth: I hadn’t even thought to remove the plastic film from inside the tissue box. I feel so foolish admitting that to you.

Before anybody panics (I’m talking to you, grandparents), I want to stress that Levi was not coughing or choking on the plastic film. I had the monitor on and would have heard him gagging. But he could have choked on the plastic pieces, which is why I’m suffering from an extreme case of mommy guilt–and why I want to share my stupid mistake with you.

So consider this a Bunny & Dolly PSA…

If you let your toddler play with empty tissues boxes, don’t forget to remove every last piece of plastic lining from it first.

{my Instagram photos taken in September 2012}

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