Monday's Musings - 10 things I couldn't get through my day without

I've been thinking lately, about the things I need to get though the day. Not the obvious things (like food and water), but other things, that help my day run smoothly. So throughout the week, I started to compile a list of things I really appreciate having, and wouldn't really want to do without. I've also given a bit of a shout-out to a few of the baby products that I find really useful.....for all of you mommas, or future mommas out there. So, here goes:

1. Coffee - It hasn't been until the last couple of years that I've become a coffee addict. It started out innocently enough.....a Starbucks frappuccino every once and a while...and it slowly morphed into owning a coffee maker and not being able to function in the morning until I have caffeine running through my veins. What happens if I don't have my usual cup of coffee in the morning? A whopper of a headache! The good news is, I only need a cup in the morning and then I'm good for the rest of the day.

2. Hair Products - To get my hair to do anything (other than just be a big poofy mess) I need some sort of hair product. Whether I want it straight, curly, or pulled up I need an some sort of spray, mouse, or serum. My usual "style" as of late is to pull it back into a pony-tail. I'm usually a pony-tail kinda girl anyway, but at the moment it's pony-tail by necessity. Edison likes to look at my long dangling hair, grab a big handful and pull....usually towards his mouth. So my best solution is to just pull it back and take the temptation away....and save myself from having to pry his little hands out of my hair.

3. Nursing Pillow - I'm deeply attached to my nursing pillow. I bought it a couple of months before Edison was even born and started sleeping with it at night. While I was pregnant I could only sleep on my side and back. I am a stomach sleeper....even though I know that's probably the worst way to sleep. So being forced to sleep on my side was annoying. This pillow really helped me stay comfortable at night. And in the midst of my labor, I waddled into the hospital.....clinging onto my nursing pillow. I've been using it everyday since, for its intended purpose...nursing a baby. I wouldn't want to go without it, it makes nursing so much more comfortable. 

4. Swaddling blanket - Edison has always been a bit of a high-maintenance sleeper. We swaddled him every night from birth until he was 6 months old. A couple of my favorites are the aden + anais swaddling cloths because they are large and made of muslin which is light and breathable; and the Miracle Blanket, which holds his arms down really well so he can't get out of it, no matter how much he wiggles. He is finally able to sleep the night in his sleep sack now, but he still can't seem to handle his nap times with his arms loose. The only way I can get him to stay asleep during his naps, is to swaddle him. No swaddle = no naps = crazy mommy!

5. White noise - This one might seem weird, but Edison has always needed white noise to fall asleep. He is gradually getting better and eventually I'm sure we won't have to use it anymore. We used to put him to sleep with the blow dryer, which is pretty loud when its right by your head. He doesn't need it quite so loud any more, so we use the Cloud B Gentle Giraffe, a friend of the Sleep Sheep. Not only is he super cute, but the sound of the waterfall does the trick every time. The white noise also comes in handy in the car if Edison is crying. While most people know the numbers of all their favorite radio stations, I know the numbers of all the fuzzy radio stations that don't come in. Oh, how life changes when you have a baby. Some of my faves (depending on the area I'm in) are 99.7, 103.9, and 105.5. As I said, I know it's kinda weird..... but when he's crying and I turn on the static, he stops every time. 

6. Notepad and pen - I'm a list maker. To-do lists, shopping lists, reminder lists for my dear (but forgetful) husband. Even as I'm writing this, I realize both of my Monday's Musings have been in the form of lists. I always have a notepad and pen in my kitchen for my many lists. I know we live in a high-tech world of laptops and smartphones....and I know I can make lists in my phone...but to me, nothing beats a good, old-fashioned pen and paper. I love stationary!

7. Camera - Obviously, the camera is always on hand. The little one is constantly growing and changing and we want to capture all of the precious moments. We have about a billion pictures of his cuteness. And good ol' Albert still gets a photo-opp every once and a while too.

8. Laptop - Jonathan and I don't have cable TV. We don't want to pay for something we don't use very often. I also like to keep the TV off because I don't want Edison watching it. Whenever he sees something on a TV, he's totally mesmerized by it. I don't want him becoming a TV junkie. I've read that babies learn more through play than they do through "educational" videos like Baby Einstein. Jonathan and I watch TV shows and movies online on our laptops, through things like Netflix. And of course I also use my laptop for all my other online activities....facebook, blogging, email, twitter, and google-ing anything and everything.

9.Books & Magazines - I love to read. I don't get as much time to these days, but I always have a book on the go....even if I only read it bits, here and there. I've also been trying out an electronic reading program called Kobo and I've read a couple of books on my computer. I looked at my packed bookshelves and decided to try electronic reading out to see if I liked it. I don't mind it, but there's nothing like flipping through an actual book. I suppose one day I'd like to get an electronic reader like a Kindle....or if I win the lottery, an iPad. I also like to read magazines... especially ones that have recipes in the back!

10.iPod/Music - One thing I noticed when we got rid of our cable TV was the quietness in the house. Does anyone leave their TV on just for the background noise? We did that a lot. Although you get used to the quietness, I also like to have music on when I feel like breaking the silence. I've got all my favorite tunes on my iPod (a lot of Hillsong and other contemporary Christian musicians, and some kids music for little Edison too).


So what are some things that you couldn't get through the day without? Leave a comment if you'd like to share something. I love to get comments..... it means someone's actually reading my ramblings.

Happy Monday!

Playing

A few weeks ago, Jonathan and I bought a nice shag rug for our living room. Now that Edison is sitting up, we thought it would be more comfortable for him to sit in our living room on a rug, instead of hardwood floor. Here are a few pictures of him playing on it.

Wandering Through the Zoo

Here are a few pictures from our latest zoo wandering....we're looking forward to some warmer temperatures, it's still a bit chilly.

We may have the chase them off the porch with a broom, but I still think raccoons are cute

The porcupines poofed their quills out for us

We've spent a lot of time watching the giraffes; they're one of my favorite animals at the zoo. We like to watch them because:
1. You don't have to walk 50 miles to get the the giraffe habitat.
2. There is a nice, high look-out so it's easy to see them.
3. Giraffes have awesome tongues.
4. Edison has a few giraffe toys that he really likes and maybe one day (just like my sister's husband Ryan), Edison will also strive to be a giraffe when he grows up.

 Check this crazy tongue out! You can click on the pictures to make them bigger if you want a close-up!

 A few of the cats where out enjoying the sun. This is a lynx (left) and a lion (right).

Here are a few more. This was the first time we'd seen the rhino; we'd never wandered over to him before. We was staying inside where it's warm.

Edison and I on the train

Sitting Pretty

Whew! What a week it's been. Poor little Edison has a whopper of a cold. He's had a couple of colds before this, but this one is by far the worst. Not only is he snotty, wheezy, and phlegmy, but he's also been very clingy and grumpy. He doesn't want to sit and play with his toys, he wants to be held....and I don't blame him. Being sick isn't fun.

Last week there was a "Cutest Little Baby" Contest in Maple Ridge, put on by Photo Express. You bring your baby in for a photo shoot (this year's theme was "spring"), they print 4 of the best photos and you chose one to enter into the contest. You also get to keep the 5x7 prints as well as a CD of the photos. I thought this was a great idea because, no matter how Edison does in the contest, we get some nice pictures of him to keep.

Unfortunately for us, this contest was only happening for a week and this hasn't been the greatest week for Mr. Edison. For the first half of the week I didn't want to take him in because he had a gigantic scratch right across his nose (as evidenced below). I think this was probably the worst scratch he's had on his face. So, needless to say, I wanted to wait for the scratch to go away.

Once the scratch cleared we still had a few days of the contest left to take him in. Cue the cold. As I said, the timing wasn't great; but we went in anyway and hoped for the best. All seemed to be well until I sat him down in the photo studio and walked away a few feet. Cue the clinginess factor and the tears. He didn't want me to stray too far. So once we calmed him down and wiped the tears/snot/drool off his face, we managed to get a few pictures. Unfortunately, no matter how many noises, faces, or toys that Jonathan and I waved at him, we could not coax a smile out of him. We tried...and tried...and tried...and tried. He was not in a smiling mood, which is funny because normally he is a very smiley little guy. The pictures aren't too bad... even with the straight face.

Wordless Wednesday.....on Friday...Oops

Monday's Musings - An Ode to my Valentine

For my musings today, I thought that it wouldn't be right if I didn't mention the fact that it's Valentine's Day! Jonathan and I have never been big on Valentines day. We don't really do gifts....although I do LOVE flowers (on any day of the week). But I would like to acknowledge this wonderful man that I've been married to for the past seven and a half years! So I've decided to up the cheese factor on the blog today and write Jonathan an acrostic poem. What is an acrostic poem you ask? It's a type of poem I'm sure you are familiar with because it's pretty much the easiest type to write.......and I'm no poet, so I need easy! Acrostic poems are simple poems in which each the first letter of each line forms a word or phrase (vertically). An acrostic poem can describe the subject or even tell a brief story about it. So I though I would tell you a brief story about Jonathan, using adjectives (and their dictionary definitions) to describe him. Enjoy!

J is for Jonathan. Now, I know the word Jonathan is not an adjective. However, I found the word Jonathan on urbandictionary.com and thought the definition was fitting. 

Jonathan: Loyal, Generous, Handsome individual (s), who is/are without a doubt the very best person to love. Jonathan(s) is/are Intelligent, Subtle, Strong, Rock-like Men. They are the best Friends.

No matter what happens to me, good or bad, I can be happy because I have a Jonathan.

O is for Obsessive Computer Disorder. This is another one I found on urbandictionary.com, where many funny words and definitions can be found. 

Obsessive Computer Disorder: to constantly be online or just on a personal computer for fun or entertainment. Also always thinking about anything computer related.

My husband has Obsessive Computer Disorder, a.k.a OCD, is always on the computer.

N is for Nimble. Whether he's flying through the air on a skateboard, doing a hand-stand in our living room, or doing flips off a diving board, I think this is a good word to describe him.

Nimble: quick and light in movement; moving with ease; agile; active; rapid. 

Jack be nimble, Jack be quick...

A is for Abnormal. Because we all know Jonathan is a little bit different...but in a good way. 

Abnormal: not normal, average, typical, or usual; deviating from a standard.

Seeing a T Rex with a rope around its neck pulling some helpless guy along is abnormal.

  

  

T is for Talent; which Jonathan has in spades. To live with an amazing musician, who can serenade Edison and I (on a variety of different instruments), is a treat!

Talent: a special natural ability or aptitude. 

He really shows off his talent when he plays the piano.

H is for Humorous. Jonathan is good at keeping things light and funny, which makes life fun. Sometimes, however, he will joke to a stranger and they don't always get it. I'm reminded of a time when he ordered his Starbucks drink "extra hot" and then when the barista handed it to him, he instantly complained that it was too hot. She looked like she wanted to whap him, until she realized he was joking.

Humorous: displaying or creating humor; funny; comical; the quality that makes something laughable or amusing. 

His stories are always quite humorous. 

A is for Adventurous. If you follow Jonathan's facebook statuses, you know he's usually up to something adventurous; whether it's surfing in arctic temperatures, attempting crazy tricks while skateboarding, pulling doughnuts in the snow, tying a rope to a bridge and surfing in the river, or paddling a surfboard down Kanaka creek....to name a few of the crazy things he does.

Adventurous: inclined or willing to engage in adventures;  enjoying adventures; full of risk; requiring courage.

It was an adventurous undertaking.  

Finally, N is for Nocturnal. If left to his own devices, Jonathan would stay up all night and sleep in all day. Unfortunately for him, this schedule doesn't always mesh well with the schedule of a baby. 

Nocturnal: of or pertaining to the night; done, occurring, or coming at night; active at night; opening by night and closing by day, as certain flowers.

Animals that are nocturnal usually sleep during the day. 

Love you, Jonathan! Happy Valentines Day everybody!