hello stranger

it's been quite some time since i last posted. haven't really had anything pressing to get off my chest. the last few weeks have been generally ho hum. i did finally get a babysitter. she started at the beginning of september and comes two afternoons a week. having her has truly changed my life. i don't know how i managed without her. actually, i barely survived without her.

anyway, i've always questioned the whole point of having kids. it's such hard work and not really that much fun either. but, now that baby is 18 months old and becoming more of a person each day, i'm slowly beginning to see the light and can kind of appreciate raising a child. for example, our neighbor's son who's baby's age was visiting the other night and is really afraid of dogs. every time our dog would get close to him, he'd fuss and jump in my lap. i'd tell our dog to shoo and go sit somewhere else. somehow, baby understood his fear and put her hand on the boy's shoulder and also patted his head. then she'd run over to the dog and pet her and was trying to show her friend that the dog was nice and there was nothing to be afraid of. then she'd come back over to her friend and give him a hug. i was pretty blown away by this behavior. she really showed compassion and and empathy. having never seen an example of such behavior, it is just a display of a pure heart. i guess that is one of the benefits of having kids. being able to experience a pure heart. an untarnished soul. sure, kids can be mischievous, but never malicious.

even this morning, while walking home through our neighborhood after breakfast, the pure joy and wonder on her face looking at every little thing along the way just makes you want to freeze time and somehow capture it in a box that you can save forever. it sounds so cheesy, but the pure innocence doesn't last forever. i guess it's a little wake up call for me to start savoring these moments.

i've taken a break from posting my purchases because my excessive spending is a little bit embarrassing. i've done some pretty heavy duty shopping since my last post. i'll bring you up to speed:

all from mulberry road by weekend a la mer:
this dress $68, turtleneck $34, top $48, and two pairs of leggings $24 each all coordinating



these shoes from lester harrys by naturino $54:


from dress boston $85


from anthropologie
top $58 skirt $88 and stripe skirt $98

from camper $140:

from Patagonia for baby $99:

from baby gap


from zara
dress $35 shirt $26

velour pants $13

corduroys $20

sweatpants $11

finally this coat for my sister in law's 30th birthday present from burberry $595:


that's about all i can recall for now...

omg

omg. my blood pressure was so high today i literally could see it and all i could do was just take deep breaths. i don't know why i got off on the wrong foot this morning, i just did. and baby was just her normal self, not particularly fussy or difficult. it got really bad when i misjudged her nap time. even though i knew it was my own fault for the situation i was in, i was still fuming. basically baby woke up a little later, so she wasn't tired when her usual nap time rolled around. i was so ready for her to go to sleep, but she absolutely refused. after trying to nurse her down for 30 minutes, i gave up and just decided to lay in bed and pretended to sleep while she figured out what she wanted to do. this lasted an hour. after her flopping around on the bed and crying for at least half the time, i decided to get up and get on with the day. boy did i have a terrible scowl on my face.

it's days like today when i really have to stop and ask myself, why do i get so mad? what is so important that i have to do that's making me feel like i'm going to bash my own head in when baby decides to change up the schedule? i guess looking forward to a little break and just zoning out, but so what if i don't get to stare into space every day at the same time? my sister in law is a pediatric oncologist that specializes in brain tumors. she deals with tragic cases on a daily basis. whenever i feel like i'm going postal, i just need to stop and thank God that my biggest worry is whether or not baby feels like napping. i don't know what i'd do if she was one of my sis in law's patients wondering how much more time they even have.

time flies

we were at the beach for the holiday and came back early to avoid the big storm. shortly after we got back home, the rest of the family decided to come over and stay on the mainland until the storm passed. it was really great having everyone around on our home turf and i don't know what got into me, but as i was watching baby walk down the street on the way to the playground like a big girl, i got all teary eyed and sad about how fast she's growing up. just over the past couple of weeks, she's changed so much. she's really coming out of her shell and just seems like before we know it, she'll be talking and going off to school. i don't know why it made me so sad. i think it was because it seemed like only a week ago, she just started walking and we were so thrilled about her walking down the street on her little wobbly legs. all this sentimentality over baby growing up makes me wonder if i'd be ok having another baby. i wonder if i'd be just as unhappy as i was the first time around or if i'd be better since i'd know what to expect. it definitely wouldn't be easier having a second because you still have the first to deal with, but i just don't know. as much as i've been dying for baby to finally stop being a baby, there's something so special about little babies. maybe i'm just temporarily insane right now. i can't believe what i'm saying. maybe i've finally fallen and can't get up.

just breathe...

after a really rough night of baby flip-flopping all over the bed and crying for an hour and a half from 3-5am, i was in a super cranky mood today. literally, the smallest thing set me off. just when i was feeling so desperate for a little relief, a weird thought came to my head. i have an 'allergy' to alcohol and get severely ill anytime i consume it. my thought was that God made me this way because otherwise, motherhood would turn me into an alcoholic. seriously, if it not were for the damn intolerance, i could totally see myself swigging a shot of something just to take the edge off. i used to smoke cigarettes to help with stress. the buzz is just right and is very relaxing. sadly, i don't smoke anymore and probably never will again. my sinuses just can't handle it. just before i quit, i got severely ill and it took 3 weeks for me to recover. i was absolutely miserable and if it not were for the stupid cigarettes, my sinuses wouldn't have gotten so infected. after that incident, i haven't really smoked again. just the thought of them kind of make me gag.

anyway, i haven't had a bad day like this in a while. maybe it's a little bit of withdrawal from my mom being here. i had it so good when she was here. i just need to hang in there for a few more days. my sister in law is coming up sometime next week and we're all heading to the beach next friday.

deep doo-doo

over the past two weeks, i've gotten into a whole mess of trouble. with all the shopping i've been doing online and at my favorite stores in town, i've really gone overboard.

it's no secret that i'm a serious control freak. that was my biggest downfall with my business. i couldn't let go of a ton of responsibilities that i should have, and as a result, i was an unhappy prisoner of my dream come true. anyway, after a week of my mom visiting, she said on the day she left that i shouldn't have any more kids. she said she felt sorry for baby because i'm more worried about her wardrobe than her wellbeing. surely, that's a bit of an exaggeration, but i do get a big thrill over finding cute clothes for her. i'm starting to make some connections about my frequent bad mood and my shopping habits. i think because i feel so out of control over baby's behavior, sleep habits and everything else that comes along with dealing with a toddler, i get the satisfaction of feeling in control over what she wears. i can't make baby eat if she doesn't feel like eating. i can't make her sleep if she's not tired. there's a million and one things i can't make her do, but i can make her wear a super cute outfit. i think this whole control thing dawned on me while watching an episode of hoarders. i'm definitely at risk for becoming one of those lunatics!! husband says my design sense is: find an empty corner in the house and fill it with shopping bags full of stuff. as i look around our apartment, he's right. i think of all the corners in the whole place, there's not a single corner that doesn't have something piled up into it.

anyway, to recap my latest purchases over the past couple weeks or so:

from lester harry's by lili gaufrette $75:

this i bought as a gift for a friend who posted it on their facebook page:

from lester harrys by anais & i $75:

also from lester harrys by bonpoint:

not exactly what i bought-this was the closest picture i could find

shirt $120, cashmere sweater $185

then from mulberry road, items 40%off purchased for next spring:

by egg by susan lazar:

then for me:

from lilly pulitzer $265

from calypso this shirt in navy $75:

motivation = zero

i haven't posted in a while. to recap the last couple weeks, we went to the museum of science, my good friend came to visit for a long weekend, we got luxurious spa treatments, my mom came for a visit, we went to the children's museum. pretty unexciting stuff. i'm even boring myself typing this entry. i promise i'll come up with something interesting soon...

falling into a new groove

day one of week three of husband going to work every day is over and although it took a little getting used to, i'm finding that being home alone with baby is actually more pleasant than having mr. fussalot around. baby and i have developed a nice routine and she naps for at least a couple hours in the middle of the day so i've been able to get a nice break and watch the tcm channel while she sleeps. the atmosphere at home is a little more relaxed and it feels less like there's too many cooks in the kitchen. i never realized how suffocated i was with husband around. sure, it was convenient when i wanted to take a quick shower, but he would get annoyed if/when baby got fussy and kind of blamed me for not playing with her enough or whatever he thought baby's problem was. also, because i have to entertain baby on my own, it forces me to get out more often. the only downside to that is sometimes that leads to unnecessary spending....but as husband says..."whatever keeps the lights on..."

online shop a thon

last night baby went to sleep relatively early so by 9 pm, i was pretty bored. usually i spend pretty much most of my time on the internet in the evenings. i'd love to be working on a craft project right now, but i still have to get my bookkeeping done from my business that closed over a year ago for tax purposes. the accountant and my husband's been getting on my back about it, but i'm so unmotivated to do it, so until i get that done, i really can't be working on anything else, according to husband's point of view. and he's right...

anyway, when in doubt, there's always online shopping. with all the purchases i made last night, i'm surprised the credit card company didn't call and say.... "um....we're just checking to see if someone stole your card and made all these crazy purchases..." actually, maybe i exaggerate a little, but i did find some good buys on clothes for baby for fall. some of my favorite clothing brands for baby right now are ikks, jean bourget and lili gaufrette. the french really know how to design clothes for kids. full price, much of what they have to offer is just a little out of reach for every day wear. but at 50% off, it seems more reasonable. one of my favorite web stores that carries most of the european brands is zandino.com.

from here i got this ikks dress $55:

this top by jean bourget $23:

this jumper by IKKS $27:

and this top by Jean Bourget $26:

then from flyingcolorsbaby.com this outfit by IKKS $49:

finally from monpetitchild.com this little jacket by jean bourget $29:

so, these were my purchases from last night. i just remembered that i ordered a cute winter hat from boden.com last week. i tried getting the picture, but it wouldn't copy over.

baby was looking through the little catalog of corolle dolls and on one page, it shows all the accessories you can buy for the doll. one particular picture caught her eye and she kept pointing to it and grunting. over and over... for a week. it was a picture of a toy stroller with the doll in it and a little girl pushing it. so, this past weekend, we went to the toy store and found that exact stroller and got it. when we brought it home and showed her, she literally couldn't wait for us to put it together... i only wish i bought it sooner because it really kept her occupied...for hours! she kept pushing that baby doll all over the house and she'd stop to feed the baby doll and fuss over it. it was really darn cute, but happily for me, it kept her busy.

the next item we need to get for her is a little table and chairs set. i think husband and i decided on the small table from pottery barn kids. now, i just have to decide on the color. definitely want the white table, but can't decide on the chair color.... secondly, where the heck to we put it once it gets here....

lazy bones

been too lazy to post, but at least i have something to write about. i spent the weekend in my old college stomping ground and it was so great being there. the town has really changed and although it's way more commercial that it used to be, it still has a great feel to it. i came armed with my credit cards and was ready to shop. my friend was an excellent enabler and brought me to a couple new spots in town. there was a super cute children's clothing store where i saw so much stuff i've never seen before. the store was geared toward 'earth friendly' brands, and not too many stores around where i live carry them. i picked up a bunch of cute tops and a dress for baby and my friend treated baby to a super cute top/skirt ensemble... i would post pics of the loot, but it was a bit of a challenge finding good pics online. there was another cute store that had an interesting selection of women's clothing, children's clothing and accessories. i recognized a lot of the women's clothes from anthropologie. looked like her inventory came from anthro's overstocks. i picked up a cute eyelet skirt and a simple shift dress for baby.

the best place we went was the fabric store. it was small, but very well stocked with beautiful designer fabrics. i went a little nuts and bought a ton of fat quarters to add to my ever growing collection. i hope to put all the fabric i have to good use some day, but for now, i just like stockpiling it.

baby was a pretty good backseat traveler this trip. it was only a three hour drive and we basically left around her nap times, so she slept for most of it. our dog came along as well and luckily there is a bunch of pet friendly hotels where we were visiting. one little wake up call from our visit was baby's inability to be taken out to a restaurant. we haven't taken her out to eat in a long time, so we weren't quite sure how she'd do, but if we had to grade her behavior, it'd be an F-. we've been trying to work on her table manners at home, but apparently we need to step it up a couple notches. i've been reading about how to get her to sit at a table online and the advice is all over the board. basically the general consensus is to try to serve all meals at a table and praise good behavior. just need to stick to the rules. husband and i aren't good at that, but we've to to try.

on another note, the babysitter is no longer available. she's gone back home "to figure stuff out". back to the drawing board!

spoke too soon

i've been feeling seriously on edge these past few days. somehow, nice pleasant baby turned into crazy fussy baby and is really driving me crazy. this week has been the first week that husband went to work every day. that is a sad statement because it's only been 3 days and already i'm about to throw in the towel. i don't know how people deal with being alone at home all day every day with their kids. i guess the key is to not be at home all day. getting out is important, but when it's too hot out, there's nowhere to go. strapping baby in a stroller and walking around the mall does not count as an activity and definitely doesn't do anything to expel baby's energy.

after spending a week with family and lots of built in stimulation, baby is definitely missing it and is bored to death. there's very little i can do to entertain her. she's bored of her toys and has taken her boredom out on the dog. luckily our dog is very patient, but we've got to be careful because there's only so much tail pulling a dog can handle. if only baby operated on a predictable schedule, planning out the day would be a little easier. lately, her naps have been all over the map and today she didn't nap at all. i needed a time out and literally locked myself in the bathroom with my computer for 15 minutes. as long as i could hear baby whining on the other side of the door, i figured she was safe.

next item on my to do list... email that babysitter!!

m.i.a.

sorry i haven't posted in a while. we spent a week at the beach and i haven't really been inspired to write about anything. i guess that means that i haven't been feeling very miserable lately. actually, for the first time, i'm kind of feeling like a mother. this big turn of events is due to baby becoming more of a person and less of a baby. this week, baby learned her body parts. that kind of blew my mind. she can definitely understand a lot of words, but for me to teach her stuff...i have to admit it's pretty cool. she's also very affectionate and it really melts my heart. i never thought the day would come when my stone cold heart (towards kids) would feel anything but disdain, but every time she comes over with a hug and kiss... all i can think of is "awwww".

i also haven't really bought a ton of stuff lately. i really wanted to buy stuff on the island, but there simply wasn't anything to buy. i bought baby another outfit at lilly pulitzer and a pair of flip flops for me. i did buy some stuff today - a doll for baby, an dress for baby, and a jacket for me. i'm really into outerwear right now. once fall comes, i'll be all set.

oy

baby decided it was a 5am wake up kind of day. i hate those kind of days. i'm trying to start weaning her off the boob and usually i can nurse her back down when she wakes up too early, but this morning, i wasn't in the mood to nurse anymore. i physically just couldn't stand that sensation one minute longer, so she protested and decided that it was time to wake up. i haven't felt this utterly miserable in a long time. luckily, i was able to take a nap in the afternoon when she finally went to sleep, however earlier in the day i walked around feeling mad at the world and toying with the idea of consuming a bottle of pills and washing it down with some kind of alcohol.

this got me thinking... is my life better now that i'm a stay at home mom or was it better when i was a store owner? for four years, i owned and operated a cute gift store that specialized in monogramming. the day it opened, it was truly a dream come true. i had never worked in retail before opening the store, so i found that customer service was quite a learning curve. after about a month, i was still happy. i would cheerfully greet every customer that walked in the door and cater to their idiosyncrasies. that lasted about 2 more months. after that, i was questioning myself as to what the heck i have done and will i be able to survive! other retailers say that my nightmarish experience with the business was due to the location i was in. it was in a real snooty suburb with the most entitled people you could ever imagine. i'd come home with some crazy story almost every night. i've blocked most of the memories out, but one that i'll never forget was when this mother came in with her 3 year old daughter. the girl was just recently potty trained and needed to go to the bathroom. she begged and pleaded with her mom..."mom... i really really got to go!!!.. please mom!!!" and the mom just kept saying "in a minute... just need a couple more minutes"... the mom was really into shopping and couldn't give a rats ass about her daughter. then the daughter gave up and stood in the middle of the floor and just peed. when the mom realized what happened, you'd think she'd be embarrassed. but no, she said to my employee, "do you have a rag?" my employee found a roll of papertowels and the lady said, "great"... and continued to shop. she didn't even offer to lay some papertowels on the floor and step on it to soak the urine up. apparently it was my employee's responsibility to clean up her daughter's pee. i was beyond disturbed.

anyway, just thinking about the store gives me high blood pressure. there were some good times and the customers really loved the store, but i don't think i could ever do anything customer service oriented ever again. i've learned that people are crazy and i don't have the patience for them.

going back a little further, before i opened the store, i worked in finance. when i had rough days at the store, it got me thinking... is my life better being my own boss or was it better when i was just some desk jockey? sadly, i think the answer to that is that i will always be a malcontent.

one for you, two for me

went to the mall today to pick up a couple birthday gifts. one is for my niece, who turned 4 last week. and the other is for my sister in law who turned 40 recently. we're going to be celebrating both birthdays over july 4th weekend. for the sis in law, it was between an ipad or a louis vuitton purse. we've pretty much settled on the ipad which we'll pick up tomorrow.

unfortunately, i got a little caught up on seeing stuff for myself. at burberry, i got baby a couple outfits ($84 and $69) and also fell in love with a raincoat ($409).

then, at jacadi, they were having a 50% off sale. i got this top ($22) and this dress ($42):

baby also needed shoes. real shoes and not those robeez prewalkers. we went to stride rite and picked these up:

($39) ($40)

it doesn't stop there. we went to neiman marcus to buy the nieces gift and also found a super cute dress for baby. i couldn't find a pic of it online, but it's by halabaloo.

that's about it. we bought a lot today. at least husband was involved in the purchasing, so it didn't seem so bad.

better luck tomorrow

so, i'm sure everyone is dying to know how today went. well, it didn't. the babysitter called around 11:30 am to say that she had somewhat of an emergency and had to bring her friend to the hospital. i guess the friend had some kind of an accident and got a concussion. well, that's the story. i'm sure what really transpired was... "hey, let's go to the beach today!" "oh, i can't, i have a new job to go to..." "just tell them a friend needed you to take them to the hospital, they'll understand" "ok.. cool... will do!"

oh, right before that, husband and i got in a little tiff because baby was fussing and husband made a comment like, i can't wait to get a babysitter in here so someone will play with baby finally. i took great offense to that comment because i feel like i give baby plenty of attention. it's not easy nor fun trying to entertain a toddler every second of the day. and one shouldn't have to either. kids need to learn how to entertain themselves. anyway, i just kind of let that one simmer and it's still simmering. it was so hot out today that going out to the park was not really an option. i decided to go to the mall to kill some time. i've always despised those people who bring their kids to the children's section of the book store to let them "look" at books and let them play. before baby was born and i went there to buy some books and a lot of them were so beat up that even if they were 50% off i wouldn't buy them. but today, i became one of those people. i now understand why they are there and i feel their pain. i wanted baby to burn off a little energy and get a little stimulation in the outside world and this was the only place i could think of to take her. and she had a blast. at least i bought a couple books and kind of paid for my time there.

giving it another try

tomorrow a new babysitter is starting. i remain dubious as to what will happen. at least i laid it all out to her - baby's clinginess, separation anxiety and the lack of experiencing anyone else really watch her. babysitter was not phased by my apprehensions. she said she's up for the challenge and is very patient. she also has experience with dealing with separation anxiety. she's got a ton of experience taking care of children, including two much younger siblings. she's worked at children's day camps, worked for several years with a single family taking care of their children. she loves children in general. (i don't understand people like that, but thank god they exist) i have every faith that she'll be fine. in fact, i'm looking forward to learning a thing or two from her. i'm really hoping she works out, because it gives husband and i hope that some day, we'll get a chance to go out by ourselves.

i'm finding that there are a lot of women in my situation. the situation being, never having any experience with kids at any age before having a baby. i never even changed a diaper before baby came along. in fact, i don't even *like* kids. i don't have a clue as to what i'm doing day to day... that explains why baby is still breastfeeding at 14 months and sleeping in our bed. it's no wonder why i think motherhood is so friggin hard. and this age is supposed to be easy. what am i going to do when the terrible twos come along... or during the know it all asshole teenage years. i guess that's why there are so many parenting books out there... for people like me, but who has time to read??? also, i'm not one that is good at following directions. ie sleep training... could have done it... tried to do it (the wrong way) and failed miserably. hence, the three of us are squished in our queen sized bed. husband has to sleep with his head the other direction so that we all fit. sometimes the dog likes to sleep with us too. four's a crowd in a queen sized bed. oy!

bleh

haven't posted in a while because i've been sick and the days have been creeping by uneventfully. the only blip on the radar this past week was husband's review of our expenses. what tipped him off was my unusually high credit card bill this month. because neither of us is really brining in any income, he had to take a look at how much longer we can live on the money we have with the rate of spending we are at. he finally got a good look at how much i've been spending and it wasn't pretty. he was like, what the heck are you buying?? and i said... i don't even know!!

well, i said, clothes and toys for baby... and groceries... and an occasional outfit for me here and there... and birthday presents for friends as needed. it adds up, i said!!

anyway, i vowed to try and cut back. my strategy is to only buy stuff 2 weeks out of every month. i think if i can just limit any purchases to the second and third week of the month, that theoretically should cut things down by at least a third. also, that forces me to wait to buy stuff if it's an off week hence, reducing a bulk of impulse purchasing.

will start this new tactic next month...

gosh darn sale

so, all the stuff i bought at petit bateau just went on sale today. everything has been marked down 20-40% off. the three items i got were all 30% off. some stores will do a price adjustment if you purchased something within a week of a sale, however, this store doesn't. oh well. i did go and buy more stuff though. a skirt, a shirt and a sweater for baby for next spring.

sadly, i have another cold. i've never been so sickly in my life. this is my third cold in the past 6 weeks. i went to the doctor a couple weeks ago because i thought i had the flu, but it was just a bad cold. i'm so tired of being sick. the worst part about it is lying in bed at night with a swollen and throbbing nasal passage. one of the outcomes of the doctor's visit was that i found out i had really low calcium levels. i've always had low calcium due to not having a thyroid and i am supposed to take supplements, however, until now, i haven't found a palatable way to get my daily dose. regular tablets are not only huge, they tend to cause a little nausea. then those viactiv soft chews came out, but they still tasted funky and hurt my teeth when i ate them. then those adora chocolates came out, but they also tasted gross and i'm not a huge chocolate fan. finally, i've discovered wellesse. it's a liquid supplement that comes in a citrus flavor. just two tablespoons a day does the trick. it's not exactly delicious, but taking it is totally a non event, so hopefully i can stick with it.

this past weekend, i was exposed to two little babies. i got to hold them and tried to recall what baby was like at that age (8 weeks old). i seriously could not remember what baby was like at that age. i do remember that i was tired and a bit overwhelmed with everything. i enjoyed holding the babies and thought they were cute, but there was not a single cell in my body that wanted to have another one. really, if my ovaries were to dry up and make it impossible for me to have another one, i wouldn't care. i know that i'm going to have another one at some point (because that's what husband wants), but maybe by then, my attitude might change. i know i'm just kidding myself, but i have to think that. i have to keep forging ahead. there's no going back now. i'm already a mom...my life is already over...what's having another one going to do?

flying would have been cheaper!

baby hates the car and cries as if her fingernails are being slowly ripped off with pliers. our strategy for the 6 hour drive down to philly was to leave around her nap time which is roughly 11am. this worked out perfectly - she fell asleep within 5 minutes of being in the car. unfortunately, we didn't even hit connecticut before she woke up. we stopped at our favorite exit somewhere in connecticut where there's a little shopping plaza with a mcd's and a borders. we had cheeseburgers and then tooled around the bookstore for about an hour. that was just enough time for baby to be willing to get back into the car seat. she was fine for a while, but once we got past ny and hit jersey, it was all downhill from there.

in order to avoid crying on the way home, we thought it would be a good idea to get on the road at baby's bed time. that way she would theoretically stay asleep and we'd be golden. nope! she fell asleep right away, but then she woke up only after 45 minutes of driving. the crying began immediately after and even worse, we hit jersey shore traffic. we were dead stopped for quite a while. oh boy. finally, the traffic cleared up and baby fell back asleep once we got to the george washington bridge. woo-hoo!! it was 10:30 pm and we were cruising along the henry hudson parkway. then, bam!!! shit! we hit a pothole! and normally, hitting a pothole wouldn't be such a big deal, but our car has those fancy low profile tires and once we felt the impact, we knew right away (from experience) something was wrong. we decided to pull over at the next exit just to take a look and see what was going on with the tire. sure enough, there was a big bubble on the side of the tire. last time this happened, we didn't notice the bubble right away, mainly because we didn't know that fancy tires and potholes were mortal enemies.

anyway, after pulling over on some random street, we see the bubble and call for roadside assistance. it's now 11pm and the guy shows up 15 minutes later and puts on the spare. once he gets the bad wheel off, we get a better picture of the damage. looks like we're going to need a new rim as well. our options are trying to get home on the spare, max speed 50mph. or, spend the night and get to the dealership first thing in the morning. we decided to spend the night. there were only two hotels in the area and the first one we went to had no vacancy. luckily, the second hotel we went to had space. by the time we got into the room, it was midnight. the room rate was $180 and we only spent 7 hours in it.

the next morning, we got up and hobbled over to the dealership and they got us all fixed up right away to the tune of $800. the whole rest of the ride home, we had our eyes peeled for anything that remotely looked like a pothole. i don't know why they put these tires on cars at all. it's like a woman wearing tiny stiletto heels...they look pretty, but they don't work on cobblestone! finally we got home around 12:30pm and although the trip home was a bit of an expensive adventure, we were glad to be home in one piece.

MORE stuff

baby needed an outfit for this weekend, so i went to petit bateau and picked these up:

pants $67

t shirt (in white) $21:

also got a grey henley style t shirt $36

it was the friends and family sale at lord and taylor. that means extra 25% off purchases. i bought these two pairs of sandals:

by 9 west $29:

by merrell $53

we'll be making the epic drive to philly tomorrow. one thing to look forward to is the lilly pulitzer warehouse sale. we went last fall and picked up some great stuff for baby that was half priced. saturday is the last day, so hopefully we can squeeze in a visit before the baptism.

trouble

so, after shopping yesterday, i got the bug and needed more. i went to anthropologie today and bought this:

jbrand capri jeans $176:

cardigan $78:

white tank $48:

another cardigan $118:

i was really happy to find some new clothes. i needed some every day kick around clothes and i can see myself wearing this a lot and it will also be great for fall.

there's a blog i follow, http://isaidyousaid.wordpress.com/ written by a husband/wife team with 3 kids. their youngest is a girl who is only a month younger than baby (13 months old). i just realized today that the wife is due with her 4th child any day now. that means she got pregnant again when baby #3 was only 4 months old. that just utterly blew my mind. i've had such a hard time with the adjustment to motherhood, i couldn't even come close to imagining what it would be like dealing with baby and being pregnant at the same time. i also can't fathom what it would be like to have to deal with baby's needs as well as doing the whole newborn song and dance again at the same time. ughghghg... gives me the chills just thinking about it... before i come down with a panic attack, i'm just going to stop thinking about it and change the subject. hm.... tuesday night... deadliest catch 9pm!

a weakness

my aunt is in town for a few days and i met up with her today to take her shopping. she already did some damage yesterday - a gucci purse and a divine pair of christian louboutin snakeskin flats. one place she didn't already check out was the shoe department at saks. because she took a long time to browse, i had to occupy myself and fell into a little bit of trouble. i ended up buying this raincoat (in black) on sale for $175:

and this dress by elie taharie on sale for $208:

the dress is going back to the store because although it fits like a dream, there is a weird bunchy area on the front where the lace panel is. i thought i would bring it home and see if i could mess with it to get it to lay flat, but it basically makes me look like i have a third boob in the center of my chest.

also, this weekend is the baptism of husband's nephew. i decided to just get something simple and useful for a gift. from petit bateau:

this romper $62

polo $25

and hooded towel $69

this was a great deal because with a purchase of $150, you get a free beach towel which retails for $74.

anyway, i don't think i did that bad because one i'm going to return the dress and the other purchase was a gift, so all i really got for myself was the raincoat...

i might take my aunt to bloomingdales tomorrow, so we'll see what i find there.