Everyday Mommy is hosting an Easy Spirit shoe giveaway! They’re super cute wedge clogs, so go check them out. She’s giving away not one pair, but two!

Best of luck to Mudlark all of you!

Our family is expanding. Quickly. In a few weeks my in-laws will be moving in with us, and in the spring baby #3 is due. So it looks like we’re about to switch from the cool-mom-crossover-SUV to minivan days. We were at a an unnamed dealership looking at an unnamed minivan when the sales guy tried to ‘woo’ me with chrome wheels - because apparently those will make any minivan look sexy. Something like lipstick on a pig.

So in terms of the feel of the car (remember, I drive the coolest SUV on the road), I think I’m leaning toward a Toyota Sienna. I like the way it drives, and I want all those cool features like dual sliding doors and power liftgate. I was thinking about a Quest, but do you know that Nissan is one of those evil companies that makes you pay more for safety features? It just makes me angry. It tells the consumer that the privileged deserve to be safer than the disadvantaged. All safety features available should come standard. All the time.

Okay, getting off my soapbox now, any minivan owners out there have stellar advice to give me? We’ll probably be looking at a 2006-ish with as many bells and whistles as we can afford. Motherproof is my favorie car review source, but even that has left me confused.

And it just happens to be the coolest language in the universe! Well, to be honest, it’s not a traditional language. See, I have a new Mac. I’ve always been a PC-kind of girl. Partial to Sonys in fact. Hubby became a traitor switched over to Macs a few months ago and I was resentful for a little while. I mean, how were we going to share files? How could a Mac exist in the house with my precious PC? But then I saw how cool it was. And denial set in.

In spite of the coolness factor, my PC was better. It might not have the functionality. It might not have a built-in camera or quick-release power chord. It might not have super cool slide shows built in and the ability to  run the entire planet from one machine. But it was a PC. And PCs are must more better. they just are. Just because. (Was he the only person in the universe who didn’t understand my rock solid logic?)

And now I’m a traitor too I’ve seen the light.  The graphic rendering and website rendering are out of this world, the ease of use is incredible (to install a program, I just click it and drag it to my Applications folder. done.), Macs are truly the best example of design genius ever created. In fact, they’re so good I think God has a preference for Mac users in his Kingdom. (Okay, stretching it a bit now). But the fact is, I’ve found the most perfect thing ever created. (other than, say, the heavens and the earth - God himself did a pretty good job there.)

Is there anything worse than shopping for a swimsuit? Wait. Let me rephrase. Is there anything worse than shopping for a swimsuit with 2 toddlers in tow? I’ve had the same (maternity) swimsuit since my first pregnancy. I’ve been wearing in and out of pregnancies. Nursing. And beyond. It’s one of those ’swim dresses’ that’s great when you’re sunning but awful when it gets wet because there’s a plethora of fabric that takes eons to dry. Now that I’ve lost a considerable amount of weight (and am not pregnant) you could fit me and my oldest child into it together. Fitting, seeing as how I bought and wore it when I was pregnant with her.

Over the past 3 years I’ve eyed swimsuits at summer time. I’ve considered trying one on now and again. But I never had the guts to shed my clothes and squeeze myself into a skimpy non-maternity suit that would show off all the things I’d like to keep hidden. There have been a handful of times that I actually talked myself into trying some on and actually ’shopping’ for a new suit. That usually lasts through the first suit I try on, then I give up, mortified, defeated, and shamed into returning home to my maternity swim dress.

Last month I found a swimsuit that was a good fit and, if nothing else, hid my tummy well and didn’t reveal baby-nursing cleavage to innocent bystanders. (We won’t talk about what my legs, tushie, and hips looked like though). But it was $78. And let’s face it. $80 for a garment that barely covers my unmentionables and makes me feel like a big brown Bessie is not my definition of a wise purchase. Well, I was at the mall today (which, by the way, if you haven’t read it, check out Mella’s recent post on that fine product of suburbia, the Mall) and I found that suit on sale for 50% off. So now, when I head down to visit my parents in Florida this weekend, I may look like big brown Bessie, but at least I didn’t break the bank for it! (And no, that’s not me in the picture. In fact, I look nothing like that in the suit.)

I’m sure the day will come when I’m not traumatized by swimsuit shopping. Either I’ll be svelte and tall and curvy in all the right places without any cottage-cheesey areas (oh, wait, I’m not tall… I guess that would be someone else), or I’ll just have learned that beauty is really on the inside and there’s no reason to worry about what’s on the outside. Yeah, right. Probably around my 80th birthday.

Now, not only can you say that your baby was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, but that he was born with a personalized silver spoon in his mouth.

Isn’t that just what the world needs? You can purchase your own at aptly named  Spoil The Baby.

May I just ask… when did spoiling become such a good thing?  Didn’t we get the term ’spoiled brat’ somewhere? (Please do not take from this that I think every child with a personalized silver baby spoon is a spoiled brat. In fact I don’t know any children with a personalized silver baby spoon. Yours - if he has one - may be a perfectly sweet child…)  But seriously, when did “spoil” become a marketable selling word for retail use?

We’ve known for years that Bean has a shoe thing. And that’s fine. She’s a girl, and it seems pretty normal. She likes shoes and purses. No big deal. But Little Man is another story  - I never expected him to develop a shoe fetish.

A good friend gave a pair of hand-me-down Nike’s for him, and they were his first non-leather shoe. I had him in Robeez-type shoes until about 6 months ago, but when we inherited these super cool Nike’s, Little Man was hooked. I keep all his shoes next to Bean’s on a little shoe rack and when it’s time to go someplace Little Man races me to the shoe rack to choose his own shoes. Always the Nike’s. If I bring him his Tevo sandals or his Robeez he shakes his head, pulls his little feet away, and pushes the shoes away from him. He’s a Nike man.

There was a big sale sign at Stride Rite today, so we walked in and I had his feet sized. He’s supposed to be in a 5.5 or 6 wide! His Nike’s are a size 4 medium! How can he possibly like shoes that are so small? It’s like having his feet bound! So I started pulling boxes of shoes off the shelf while he played with one of those tilted mirrors they have in shoe stores. But he quickly realized that each and every box I found contained shoes that were most definitely not his Nike’s, and when he saw me coming with a box in hand, he’s start crying.

So we went to another shoe store - one where they sell Nike’s. I knew I wouldn’t find the same shoe, but I was pleasantly surprised to find something similar. We sat down and took off the blessed Nikes and I went looking for more shoes. I’d grab a box and take them to him, he’d see it was not his shoes, and he’d shake his head and run like the wind to his Nike’s, pick them up, and sit down at my feet for me to put them on him. Cute.

He’s gone to bed now. And his Nike’s have mysteriously disappeared. They’ve been replaced by non-Nike sneakers (with velcro, thank goodness!). We’ll see what kind of terror ensues tomorrow morning when his precious Nike’s are missing. Somehow I don’t think the world will come crashing to a halt - but his just might.

Recently Little Man (16 months now!) has been experiencing skin rashes. We’re trying to figure out what’s causing it - an allergy to the detergent, something he ate, who knows… But, the treatment of it has been key to dealing with the problem. We’ve been using bath products recommended by a dermatologist and lotions recommended by the same dermatologist. And that does a great job. But the dermatologist also recommended that we buy Aveeno’s bath powder. I checked that out, and the main ingredient is oatmeal. And $9. (gasp!)

So I did some research, and it turns out you can make your own colloidal bath powder from whatever oatmeal you have at home. Quick-cooking, instant, slow cooking, as long as it’s unflavored it all works pretty much the same.

Blend it in your food processor or coffee grinder until you have a fine, consistent powder. To ensure that it has the colloidal property, dissolve 1 TSP in a glass of warm water. The oatmeal should blend easily with the water and be absorbed into it. It should give the water a milky look and silky feel. If not, blend a bit more and try again. You can use it immediately, or store it in an airtight container for later.

At bath time, sprinkle a handful (or about 1/3 cup if you’re a measurer) into the bath and swirl the water around a bit to mix it in and dissolve everything.

This works great to treat rashes, sunburn, chicken pox, or just to soften your skin for a nice relaxing bath. That’s what works for me. Check out Rocks in My Dryer for more Works For Me ideas.

The Delaney Diaries has this great post about what makes her happy, and she asks what makes you happy.* So I thought I’d weigh in with what makes me happy, today and in general. So here it is:

Edy’s Slow Churned French Silk ice cream - I’ll take a vat of it.

A hot bath with eucalyptus mint bath salts. Alone. (mother’s day hint: I’m out of my blessed bath salts…)

A really great apron to make me feel like hosting a dinner party. And maybe this matching one for my little helper.

Friends, probably more effective than anything else.

My hubby. He falls into the ‘friends’ category too, but really he deserves his own mention.

Fun, bright-colored wedges.

Little arms wrapped around my neck.

Coffee. Any way I can get it. But preferably made from freshly ground fairly traded organic whole beans.

Fresh peaches. (Is it June yet?) And organic apricots too.

Early morning time to read the Bible in peace and quiet.

Dinner made by someone else. It never happens, but a girl can dream, right? What does it say about me that many of these involve something to eat? So, tag. You’re it. what makes you happy today?

*When things are so sad.

A friend of mine told me about a great online toy store with lots of handcrafted, wooden, and European toys. While looking for it, I stumbled on another online toy store that I love. Check them out! They both have some great, durable toys that’ll grow with your child.

Magic Cabin

Oompa Toys 

Neither did I! But, take a look at today’s post over at Broom Huggers - the other voice in my head my business blog. And the scary thing - it’s not just sippy cups - baby bottles can be bad too!