Smartee Pants Clothing has some really adorable things. It’s horrible when I have extra money sitting in my PayPal account, because then I start checking out sites like these and thinking about all of the cute things I could order for Alyssa or Ryan. Ryan in particular should definitely get a little something, since his birthday is just a week away.

So… money in my account, nothing to do but shop… what am I looking at? Well, I know that Alyssa would love their rhinestone tees, particularly the one featuring a crown and her name, or even Princess or the heart or cupcake. Their personalized children’s clothes are adorable, and I’m getting some ideas for Alyssa’s birthday… I’m thinking a birthday girl t-shirt? I bet she would love that!

Moving on from Alyssa, there are some really nice baby gifts then I can picture as being perfect for a friend of mine who is due to deliver any day now (speaking of her, I’m going to call in the morning to see how she is doing!). If she wasn’t so far along, I’d consider buying her some designer maternity tees to show off her baby bump with.

You know, I’m really glad I didn’t know about sites like these when I was pregnant with Alyssa and Ryan! Otherwise I don’t know how we’d have the money left over for baby gear and diapers and clothes.

So here is something interesting for you. I haven’t breastfed my son, Ryan, since late last October/early November, yet I still produce milk. I’m not producing anything substantial, but enough that I definitely know that it’s there. Is this normal? I know that once you have had a baby and lactated that it’s pretty easy to re-lactate, but what about continuing to lactate after you have finished breastfeeding?

On a related note, I had a breastfeeding dream the other night. I’m not sure if it was my baby or someone else’s baby that I was nursing, but I distinctly remember helping the baby latch on, cradling him in my arms, and feeling the familiar tingle and throb of my milk letting down. Yes, the dream was that vivid (as is this description!).

Sigh. I miss pregnancy. I miss breastfeeding. I miss Ryan being tiny. I wish I could go back two years and re-live his infant months all over again. I’d say I’d do Alyssa’s too, but she really wasn’t that pleasant of a baby. That sounds mean, but it’s true! She was always glaring, and never really interested in cuddling or snuggling. She was always very independent, and acted almost as if she was pissed off that she wasn’t big enough yet to go out and about on her own!

So, baby urges. I wonder if they’ll ever go away. I try to steer clear of baby photos, baby product sites, baby clothes, and items like moses baskets and crib bedding. If I don’t, the urges are just THAT much stronger. Grrr.

I have to pee. I’m thirsty. I’m desperately craving chocolate. But I don’t feel like getting up, my glass isn’t within reach, and there’s no chocolate in the house, and my mom has my car so I can’t even go out to buy chocolate. Le sigh.

Alyssa is up. She slept late today and didn’t come stumbling out until almost noon. I need to hurry up and get her into bed though, because tomorrow morning we all have to be up and ready to go out the door when Dan needs to leave for work, and that’s at 11am. We need to leave a few minutes earlier, so that Dan has the time to grab his check and take it to the bank. Since we’ve all been sleeping in, getting up at 9:30am (me) and 10:15am (kids) is going to suck. But, sigh, we’ll deal, somehow!

So, what does everyone have planned for the weekend? I plan on taking a part of my paycheck and shopping for mens rings, and paying bills. For the rings, I’m looking at titanium, but I also like tungsten rings. I know, I’m so exciting.

I just finished watching The Baby Borrowers. The show has a really neat concept: set up a teenage couple in a house and hand them a baby to watch for a period of three days. The house was completely furnished with regular furniture, baby furniture and food, and once the teens got their clothes and such unpacked, their child was brought in. Obviously there were safeguards in place: a nanny available 24/7 to shadow if need be, and the parents themselves could watch what was happening in the house at all times, from another house right across the street. But generally, the teen couples were on their own with their charges.

So this week’s episode featured toddlers. I can definitely sympathize with the frustration level some of the teens experienced. Toddlers ARE frustrating. And yeah, they sleep 10 - 14 hours straight, rather than the horrible little cat naps that tiny babies do, but they are SO much more active during the day.

Heh, I think this is my new favorite show. Have you seen it?

If you want to excite me, take me to Target. I love that I can get almost everything we need from there. The only exception is plus-size clothing for me (I’ll take Fashion Bug any time!) and food beyond the basic gallon of milk, loaf of bread or frozen pizza. I’d say that 99% of Alyssa’s clothing and 100% of Ryan’s clothing came from Target. I buy socks for myself at Target, and all of my husband’s clothes from Target.

Now, if you want to bore me to tears, drag me to a hardware store like Home Depot. Nothing will put me to sleep faster than lumber, paint, plumbing, commercial lighting and carpet swatches. Though I try to make the most of the time there and keep myself lively by checking out some of the neat gadgets they’ll often have near the cash registers.

What is your favorite store?

So I had been yapping about a neighborhood yard sale that was held on June 28th. I had every intention of participating, but I was so wiped out from our vacation, driving home and getting settled back in at home (we came home on Thursday evening; the 28th was a Saturday morning) that I skipped it. In hindsight, I should have put a bunch of stuff (baby bedding, baby toys, a few infant outfits) outside with a donation box and let the neighborhood have at it. But I didn’t. And now the stuff is still in my house. And I’m sure that half the neighborhood is pissed with me for not doing my part and turning out with crap to sell. Oh well. The downside is that every time I look at the baby stuff I want more babies!

To be honest, we have lived here for a little over a year, and aside from the people on either side of our house, I have no desire to really meet and mingle with anyone else. Not the guy across the road who we had an issue with over a basketball hoop, not the woman next door to him who bellows like an enraged yak for her teenage boys, and not the family on the other side, the husband who is very nice (he helped my brothers and I push my mom’s stalled mini-van down the road) but the wife who stares daggers at me every time she sees me (apparently me leaving a plate of cookies on their porch as a way of saying “Thanks for helping me push a mini-van!” is synonymous with, “Hi, can I steal your husband?” ), or the other parents of cretins whom they never take responsibility for.

I’ll just keep on being that snobbish, uppity neighbor that I’m sure everyone thinks I am.

When I was a kid, I never had to think twice about not touching property that wasn’t my own. From the time I was very young, it was drilled into my head that it was absolutely unacceptable to venture on someone else’s property or touch property belonging to someone else, unless I had their direct permission.
I’m obviously grown now, but those teachings have stuck with me, influenced me, and are now being handed down to my children. My daughter knows that she is not allowed to touch another child’s toy or go onto the property of any of our neighbors unless she was specifically invited to.

But so many kids are missing this crucial lesson. A prime example is the neighborhood where my grandfather’s home is at. Twice this year his flood lights have been shattered, and I know that it’s irritating, misbehaving kids or even teens that are responsible for it. My mom and I make attempts to drive by and check on the home at least twice a week, but unfortunately we’ve never caught the jerk(s) in the act.

Sometimes I really worry about how the children of today and tomorrow are being raised. So many parents don’t want to crack down on their kids for the basic things — such as staying off the property of others, not vandalizing or trespassing, etc. If these little but common sense things are being overlooked, what does that say for the big things?

Every now and again I post about titanium-jewelry.com. Well now I’m back and blogging about them again! As you may know, Titanium Jewelry is a leading company in the titanium and tungsten jewelry market. They also have jewelry available in black titanium and even palladium. They carry a large, high quality selection of mens wedding bands and womens wedding bands, but they have plenty of other jewelry as well, including bracelets, necklaces, earrings and accessories for men (cuff links and the like).

Anyway, I came across the following coupon today, and thought I’d share it with you all!

Use the coupon code CS25 to save an instant $25 off of any purchase of $69 or more at titanium-jewelry.com!

If you’re looking for special types of clothing, it can be a pain to find stores that carry them. For example, I’m fairly certain that K-Mart, Target, Wal-mart and the like don’t carry 5.11 pants, just as a plus size fashion store would not carry junior sizes. Thankfully, specialty stores exist for just about any type of clothing available. LA Police Gear is one such website. They have a variety of tactical clothing, gear, equipment and other related items. Save 15% on your purchase with the following coupon code: july08!

And on that note, I’m off to check out a few plus size clothing websites to see what they have to offer.

This is a sponsored post.

I am really, really tired. I’m working on some research at Wikipedia, looking up info on msn wedding bands, and writing up a few content articles. I’d wait to do this tomorrow, but I know that I’m going to be busy tomorrow. We’re having a party for July 4th (Happy 4th everyone!), and we’re also going to be celebrating my brother’s thirteenth birthday party. I’m not sure if my husband will be at the party (we’re fighting: he slept on the couch last night, we fought again this morning, had a little car/key drama, and he went home to his brother’s tonight), but my mom, grandfather, two brothers, and my friend Jason will be there. And the kidlets, of course.

My brother is going to freak when he finds out what one of his birthday presents are. I can’t wait to see the look on his face!!!

July is moving fast already. I sent out birthday invitations for Ryan’s second birthday a week ago: the party is on the 26th. I also reserved a two hour slot at a local pool for a private night party on August 5th. We’re inviting both our families and some friends. It’s going to be LOADS of fun!