OK Little Elves, My List is Ready!

As time slowly passes by, I feel the need to know that everything will be taken care of. On the budget of a full time student and stay at home mom, I am thankful that we got so many beautiful things for Benny when he was born. With this new addition, there is really not going to be a whole lot that we need. Except for big things of course. And, if it's a girl, an entire new wardrobe. I have my wish list. I add to it. Things will fall into place. Whether I get everything right away or slowly over time, it won't be a big deal! Just because I love baby products, and maybe some of you do too, I thought I'd share some of the big things I'm looking at. If any of you happen to notice amazing deals on any of these, definitely feel free to drop a line or two!

1. UppaBaby Vista with RumbleSeat
I figure with the almost three year age difference, it will be good to have a stroller that can be both single and double. And can hold the car seat. Thereby eliminating two of my strollers! :) My full size single is already up for sale, my car seat carrier is not worth selling, but will remain in storage instead of rearing its head! (If anyone is looking for a full-size stroller, the one I am selling is a Peg Perego Centro Completo in toffee, including all accessories. The wheels, rain cover, and hood were all replaced right before I put it into storage.)

2. Chicco KeyFit 30
I was extremely unhappy with my car seat that I bought for Benny. We went with a Mia Moda Viva. I liked it because it was so different than what everyone else was shlepping around. I found out very quickly, there was a reason no one else was carrying it around! It was a total piece of crap! Although, I did get many compliments on how cute it was! In all honesty, I doubt you can even get that seat anymore! I have it as back-up, in case I don't get the new seat before coming home from the hospital. After that, I plan on donating or even just trashing it. Not sure I'd feel comfortable recommending it for someone else to put their infant in! After a LOT of research, I am confident in the decision of going with the Chicco. Only time will tell if I am making a good choice!

3. Beabe BabyCook
This comes back to the budget thing. I don't want you all to think I'm one of those moms that took the time to make all of Benny's food on my own. We were big fans of jarred food. No prep, no cleanup, no time lost that could have been spent kissing and hugging my child. Not that you actually lose that time but there are things you need to tell yourself when you take the road marked Lazy Lane. With our super tight budget and me being home all day, I figure the least I could do is buy this. It's foolproof. Takes a matter of minutes and the cleanup is minimal. I can still turn to my good friends, Jarred Food, when I'm in a pinch, but why not try to do it right this time!

4. A Crib
You'll notice there is no link there. That would be because of my extreme indecision in this matter. Benny used his pack-n-play until he transferred to his bed. Which happened way too early in the timeline. Because he was able to climb right out of that lovely pack-n-play! I don't necessarily have space for a monstrosity of a crib that could be passed down to my kids great-grandchildren, but I'm really hoping to be able to convince myself that the lack of room left over after sleeping arrangements is so worth the extra sleep I will get. But, then again, what if this baby is no different and just finds the way out of the crib as if it were a pack-n-play? Then I dropped the little money we don't have on something unnecessary!! Hence the lack of linkage to the crib I have chosen.

5. Skip Hop Versa
Skip Hop has been good to me from the start! This is one of their newer bags and I'm ready to fill it!! :)

These are mostly big ticket items and, should push come to shove, I can probably find something more affordable that would work for us as well. But why would I want to do that? This is MY wish list, after all! A girl can dream!

And, because right now, a post wouldn't be a post without it, GO VOTE FOR YITZY before the contest closes tonight!!!

Just Some Thoughts

With this pregnancy, I honestly couldn't tell you what week I'm up to. With Benny's I probably could have told you the day and how many were left. I find that interesting. I constantly find myself counting back from my due date to figure out how far along I am when people ask me. At this point, I just say, "Oh I'm due in April."

And now for my standard updates.

Potty training has taken a new turn. The only door left open at home is Benny's bathroom, and he makes use of it on his own! I still remind him when it seems like it's been forever, but more or less, he goes and pees on his own. I'm not ready to talk about his poop yet. All I can say is when it gets too quiet, he's probably pooping somewhere. And I can basically guarantee that somewhere does not happen to be the toilet. And he's not wearing underwear. And our apartment is all carpeting (except for the kitchen and bathrooms). Makes for fun times!

Bedtime has been going pretty smoothly too! I had to restock our prize box today! Thank goodness for holiday clearances! Picked up some great little toys for about fifty cents each, he was super excited to see the new things in there!

We also finally got him a real pair of snow gloves. Tomorrow, Shuky only has one class and it is in the afternoon. Benny requested his prize for bedtime be playing in the snow with Shuky in the morning. He's so excited!! I hope the weather allows it!

Don't forget to get those last minute votes in for my brother, good people!! The contest closes on January 16th and I want to book my tickets for his concert already! :)

And now I will be calling it an early night. Beyond exhausted. Good night to all of you!

Every Shabbos

My brother, Yitzy, is an extremely talented musician. He plays guitar and piano (when he was younger he took violin lessons but I have no idea how long it's been since he picked one of those up). His voice is amazing. He writes poetry (always love getting birthday cards from him!) and of course that flows into his music, creating beautiful lyrics to the songs he writes. For years, we've all been begging him to take his music to a studio. Mimi, his wife, gets a special gift of a song written for her from time to time. Happens to be she has a beautiful voice as well so I'm expecting great things out of my niece and nephews!

Anyway, not that I don't love bragging about my talented family members for no reason, but today there is a purpose. Recently, Yitzy entered a competition called A Jewish Star, something of an American Idol for Jewish talent. The song he entered with was one of his own, obviously. This specific song was something he wrote in honor of Mimi's grandfather, Rabbi Moshe Baruch Kotlarsky, of blessed memory, who passed away a few years ago. It's a beautiful, heartfelt song, and makes us all so proud!

If you could please take a moment and vote for his entry, it would mean so much to me and my family! If he is chosen as a 'top 10 finalist', he will be singing in a concert, in Brooklyn, on February 20th. There would be nothing more amazing than to be sitting in that crowd, cheering for him! Should he win the contest, he will receive a two year lease on a car, $1,000, and time in a recording studio with coaching from a professional to produce a song!

Just to give you a quick background about my brother - he is an R.N. in Monsey, NY. He is an extremely devoted husband to Mimi and father to their three beautiful kids, and in the midst of getting into med school.  In my completely unbiased opinion, he is a truly amazing person, capable of accomplishing things like no other. If anyone deserves this chance, it is him! PLEASE, take five minutes and register on the site so you can vote and help him win!!!