Talk about multi-tasking

I am highly against multitasking while driving because I firmly believe that it increases the chance for accidents. However, I thought the worst was talking on the phone or putting on makeup, but this is a new one! Chalk another one up for Ohioians (right next to Joe the plumber).


Driving and Breastfeeding news story

Okay...How dumb can you be?! Yes, the baby may be crying and hungry. BUT how much of a hurry are you in to unstrap said kid, whip out boobie, and try to BREASTFEED WHILE DRIVING! The only thing I can think of is that the baby was not restrained in a car seat when she got into the car, but was on her lap. Ah, hello, illegal. So by feeding the kid, she puts it in more danger from an accident or even bad driving skills than a little hunger might have done to it.


Don't worry. I'm all for boob juice, but not while my hands are on the wheel or even while the vehicle is in motion. Pull over, then feed little one, strap back into car seat, continue driving to destination. Sheesh.

How to waste your time

Do you like riddles? Are you feeling competitive? Are you ready for a bit of harmless addiction?
Check out this link...

http://www.mcgov.co.uk/riddles/level1.html

This is going around the baby blog I list on and I just can't stop playing! It took me the longest time to get past level two. Now I'm currently stuck on number 9.

Let me know if you get it figured out before me!

:-)

Scholarship competition & insights into our youths' minds

This weekend at Aquinas we held our annual scholarship competition for incoming prospective freshmen. High winners get full tuition, room, and board here at Aquinas for the fall. The competition is all about brains with a writing component, a math component, and a "how well you function in a group" component. Faculty here at AQ help out with judging the group work test. Basically, three faculty listen to 7-8 students at a time while they discuss a problem put before them. We then are rating them not on their solution to the problem, but on how well they worked together to arrive at that solution.

This year's topic was to rank order problems facing the United States in the order that they should be addressed by our new president. 18 problems. It was VERY interesting to see how different groups worked with each other or not...of which students are total extroverts or introverts...of who tries to get everyone involved and who always talks to here their own voice.
It was also interesting to learn what are important concerns to these students and what is NOT too problematic to them. I always cringe to here "The environment isn't really a problem" or "If people were smart, they just wouldn't get sick and need health care" or "alternative fuels will put too many people in the oil industry out of work." In the end, of the 24 students I watched, I saw a handful of bright, level-headed, well spoken students that I hope come to AQ and major in Biology. And then I saw at least one ass student who bowled people over with his opinions, showed little respect to anyone (include us), and was, well, an ass. I'll lay down $20 that says he thinks he'll be a doctor and he'll show up in our introductory course next fall. Yeah.

So what do you all think should be addressed first out of this mini-list?

Thinking of the future

So we're watching TV last night and Brian, out of the blue, turns to me, and says 

"If you want to put your body through that again, I wouldn't mind having another baby."

Whoa.

This coming from the man that I had to arm twist into having Tam, and that was only after being together for 11 years.  

He then went on to say that having Tam in our life is one of the most amazing things in the world. He didn't know how awesome life could be when this tiny little being looks up into your eyes and grins this huge happy toothless grin.  He then told me that he was just so filled with love knowing that this little guy totally depends on us and trusts us to make life good and right for him. 

Whoa.

I was blown away...and couldn't agree with him more.  So, yes, maybe, in a couple of years and before I'm 35, we'll *try* for number two. (And hope for a girl so we can have the matched set).

I haven't forgotten the tiredness, body alterations, or pain yet...but the reward is definitely worth it and I think I could do it one more time. :-)  Not yet though.

Happy Late Valentine's Day

Yummy cookies from our aunts.


Don't worry, I only let Tam gum it :-)

Car seat update

Last weekend, we bundled up Tam and headed over to babies r us to check out car seats in person. Tam still fits in his infant carrier, but he is starting to look a little cramped. We figured we may still have another month with it before REALLY needing to upgrade. So of we went to the store to play with the demo models.

If you haven't ever entered Babies 'r' us on a Saturday...Don't! Just picture a mega store with only baby crap, a gazillion women who are pregnant and/or mommies, a handful of crying babies, and a few lost dads. Dear Lord, all the baby stuff they have! Everything you could possible need, everything you could ever want, as well as stuff you didn't know you wanted, and stuff you didn't even know existed! I get overwhelmed even with just checking out pacifiers...of which there are at least 10 different brands, and several different kinds among each brand. Do I get the blue nubby one for teething? Or the green ones that are shaped more like the nipple? Silicon or plastic or rubber? And Brian pretty much refuses to go with me, citing that he trusts my decisions. (Wimp).

And then there are the clothes! Too cute and too pricey! I swore I would not buy many clothes off the rack 'cause of the price and the fact that he'll only wear them for about 3 months. But they are too cute! Oh, the manufacturers market their wares very well! At least much of the winter items were on sale, even though we'll still have about 2 more months of winter here.

Okay...back on track...car seats. The store is great in that they have a real seat from a car that you can attach the demos to. This allows you to see how easily they are to install, and how your baby fits in them. I first try the Britax brand. These are the pricey ones, BUT they are currently on sale at 15-20% off (they go on sale twice a year) BUT they are not on sale at babies r us and I would buy them through Amazon. Britax easily install with the Latch system and go from a basic model to something resembling a posh Lamborghini. Well, peanut here fits really nice and the suped up model and I especially like the extra padding to help keep his head from bouncing around while I'm driving here in Michigan. Hmm... but the cost?!

I also checked out the Evenflo brand, but had a bugger of a time installing it into the "car." Peanut also didn't seem very comfy in that style and the bottom belts crossed right over the middle of his thighs.

However, the one I ended up purchasing was not available as a demo at the store. It seemed to be fairly similar to the the Britax, but way cheaper ($100 less). Bought it online and hopefully will be able to try it out later this week. I'll post the photos :-)